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Rated: PG-13
Writers: Andreas Dalsgaard, Christian Kirk Muff, Andreas Koefoed, Mark Monroe, Duska Zagorac
Director: Andreas Koefoed
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
“Drugs, prostitution and art are the most, opaque businesses in the world.” This is a quote from one of the people interviewed for this fascinating documentary.
The Lost Leonardo tries to unravel the mystery of who created the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) painting. Known as the most expensive painting to ever sell at $450 million on November 15, 2017, at Christie’s in NYC. Why pay such an enormous amount of money? Because many people believe it is the lost work of Leonardo da Vinci. There are only 20 known paintings by da Vinci in the world so this would make the work incredibly valuable. But is it truly by Leonardo? This is the premise of the film, and I was left without a firm conclusion.
Modern day testing has proven that the Salvator Mundi dates from 1499-1510 and it is oil on a walnut panel. All in keeping with the time da Vinci painted and the medium he chose for his works. However, there are many mysteries about this creation that the film discloses.
The film begins with Alexander Parish, an art buyer, discussing a painting he bought a few years ago for under $2K from a New Orleans dealer. The painting was very old, and very damaged but he thought it looked promising. After consulting with his financial partner, they both felt the painting was worth restoring and took it to renowned art historian and restorer, Dianne Modestini (photo below) in New York City.
Modestini started to clean the painting and the more she cleaned, the more she felt the painting was by Leonard da Vinci. Her telling of the process was interesting, and she did a masterful job of restoring the work. However, was it too good a job? Is the painting now da Vinci or Modestini? This is just one of many questions this documentary asks. The journey the Salvator Mundi took from New Orleans to the Christie’s auction house to the current owner reads like a James Bond movie and it certainly made me think twice about the business of art.
Preview clip:
Interview with Andreas Koefoed • Director of The Lost Leonardo
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