The Salvator Mundi is the latest artwork to be given the title of “most controversial painting.” This may be because of the seemingly exorbitant amount paid for a painting with a number of serious defects, which, theoretically, should have kept its auction price in check.
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Salvator Mundi, painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that was completed about 1500. It became the most expensive work of art ever sold when it was auctioned at Christie’s, New York, on November 15, 2017, for $450.3 million. The unprecedented sum for a heavily restored painting with questionable attribution made the Salvator Mundi, arguably, the most controversial painting of the 21st century. The painting depicts Christ as the Savior of the World. He is shown in Renaissance dress, with two fingers extended as he gives a benediction. In his left hand, he holds a crystal orb, which represents the crystalline
What does “SM” stand for in the context of Leonardo da Vinci? Our visual engagement with the painting has been skewed by fictionalised stories, lurid journalism, and attributional vitriol. For me, SM now stands for “Sensationalised Mess.” How the painting actually works as a devotional image, what it means, and how it embodies Leonardo’s science and art have become lost.
What does “SM” stand for in the context of Leonardo da Vinci? Our visual engagement with the painting has been skewed by fictionalised stories, lurid journalism, and attributional vitriol. For me, SM now stands for “Sensationalised Mess.” How the painting actually works as a devotional image, what it means, and how it embodies Leonardo’s science and art have become lost.