Prized Copy of Leonardo’s Painting Recovered from an Apartment in Italy
Workers in an Italian museum that was shut down temporarily due to the pandemic were not aware that a prized copy of the famed Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting was missing.
Workers in an Italian museum that was shut down temporarily due to the pandemic were not aware that a prized copy of the famed Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting was missing.
It is a 500-year-old copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting called the ‘Salvator Mundi’ (Saviour of the world) that went on to become the world’s costliest painting in 2017 when it was sold for $450 million at a Christie’s auction.
Leonardo’s art became the most expensive work ever sold in an auction. Leonardo’s artwork ‘Salvator Mundi’ depicts Christ raising one hand to make the sign of the cross while holding a crystal orb in the other.
The good news is that the staff of the museum that is enclosed within San Domenico Maggiore church complex in Naples has discovered their prized possession.
Ironically it was found in an apartment and the 36 year old owner of the apartment from where it was recovered has been arrested. It is believed that the owner was receiving stolen goods and the theft seems to be commissioned.
“The painting was found on Saturday thanks to a brilliant and diligent police operation,” said Naples prosecutor Giovanni Melillo.
“Whoever took the painting wanted it, and it is plausible that it was a commissioned theft by an organisation working in the international art trade,” he added.
Italian police have returned a 500 year-old copy of Leonardo da Vinci's iconic 'Salvator Mundi' to a museum that had no idea it had been stolen. pic.twitter.com/VY284NSaF1— DW News (@dwnews) January 21, 2021
“There was no complaint on the matter and in fact we contacted the (church) prior, who was not aware of its disappearance, as the room where the painting is kept has not been open for three months”, he explained.
It is believed that the stolen painting has been painted by one of Leonardo’s pupils during the prime of his painting career. The pupil is most likely Girolamo Alibrandi while the painting dates back to early 1500s.