The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting by Ben Lewis (PDF)

Description

An epic quest exposes hidden truths about Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, the recently discovered masterpiece that sold for $450 million—and might not be the real thing. In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s small oil painting the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as savior of the world is “the rarest thing on the planet.” Its $450 million sale price also makes it the world’s most expensive painting. For two centuries, art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardo’s assistants in the early sixteenth century. But where was the original by the master himself? In November 2017, Christie’s auction house announced they had it. But did they? The Last Leonardo tells a thrilling tale of a spellbinding icon invested with the power to make or break the reputations of scholars, billionaires, kings, and sheikhs. Ben Lewis takes us to Leonardo’s studio in Renaissance Italy; to the court of Charles I and the English Civil War; to Amsterdam, Moscow, and New Orleans; to the galleries, salerooms, and restorer’s workshop as the painting slowly, painstakingly emerged from obscurity. The vicissitudes of the highly secretive art market are charted across six centuries. It is a twisting tale of geniuses and oligarchs, double-crossings and disappearances, in which we’re never quite certain what to believe. Above all, it is an adventure story about the search for lost treasure, and a quest for the truth.Praise for The Last Leonardo“The story of the world’s most expensive painting is narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail in Ben Lewis’s book. . . . Lewis’s probings of the Salvator’s backstory raise questions about its historical status and visibility, and these lead in turn to the fundamental question of whether the painting is really an autograph work by Leonardo.”—Charles Nicholl, The Guardian“As the art historian and critic Ben Lewis shows in his forensically detailed and gripping investigation into the history, discovery and sales of the painting, establishing the truth is like nailing down jelly.”— Michael Prodger, The Sunday Times

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Is a “Salvator Mundi” found in a scrap heap of an auction in New Orleans really by Leonardo da Vinci? Is it worth $450 million? Why has it–again–disappeared from public view? Where do the spheres of art grifters, the economic 0.001 percent and murderous potentates collide?Lewis gently discloses how little we know about da Vinci life’s as well as his artistic production, weaving it into the background of the world of speculation (As to investments as well as provenance) in 21st art sales usually observed only by the would-be cognoscenti and the money movers.In exploring the multitude of potential provenances, Lewis leads the reader down multiple rabbit trails. Convinced by a chapter that it IS by da Vinci? “Not so fast,” says the next chapter. So it’s NOT a da Vinci? Well, it’s not that simple. Besides, how much of it must be by da Vinci’s hand for it to be a da Vinci? How much can be by artists in his studio? Or 18th restorers? Or 21st century restorers?What are the traditions, what are the angles of fine art marketing and sales? How much puffery is allowed or susceptibility encouraged?Notice all the questions marks? That’s kind of where the reader is left, which is perhaps inevitable at this point with this painting.As a lay-person, for me “The Last Leonardo” is not quite the page-turner of other recent museum theft, questionable collecting, etc. but worth the read.

⭐I thought I knew something about Leonardo and this painting, but there was so much more to learn! Ben Lewis has documented as much as is possible to know today about this remarkable painting with an even more remarkable history. I’m buying another copy since I gave away my first copy the day I finished it, saying it was one of the best and most informative art history books I’ve read. Of course there is stuff we can’t know for sure after 500 years, but the epic manipulation of the art world is masterfully documented. Not knowing where the painting is today, and not being sure how almost half a billion dollars passed through so many hands adds to the mystery. The photographs included here give added insights to the painting and its history, and I look forward to hearing more about the brilliant restoration and the hoped-for exhibition of this intriguing masterpiece.

⭐A fascinating, highly complex story – in fact, with so many nuances and twists and turns, the story thread occasionally becomes vague to the point of disinterest. Having noted that, with such complexity and nuance embedded into this yarn, there’s really no more effective way this story could have been told.For the lay reader, the depth of detail is daunting. For the specialist and knowledgeable art historian, this story line is raw meat in the quest to expose good from bad art history research and to sort through the hypersensitivities and jealousies of people one would think would be mature enough to know better than to think and behave the way they do.However, being art and not science (largely), and understanding the foibles of people who are artists and those who are passionate about art as an elemental part of their lives, the story of the Salvator Mundi makes logic and reason not close companions to passion and personal opinion, but rather foreign elements to a world built on scant facts and fewer certainties.It’s a read well worth the time and effort to comprehend what truly constitutes great art – and in turn, helps one understand the sort of people who get to decide what that term really means.

⭐What is the price of art? This is the question asked by “The Last Leonardo”, the recent authenticated da Vinci sold on the fine art market, “Salavator Mundi”. Certainly the most valuable piece of fine art in the world is unquestionably the so-called “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci (La Gioconda, La Joconde) which is probably valued at $1 billion+. (The Mona Lisa used to be loaned out in the mid-20th century, but now it never will leave the Louvre because the insurance estimates are so high.) However the “price” explored in this book is above and beyond the price fetched for Leonardo’s “Christ” which fetched $450 million at Christie’s auction in 2017. While it’s certainly not as famous as the “Mona Lisa”, it’s not like authentic da Vinci’s come up for auction very frequently! It’s a combination of the rarity/scarcity of da Vinci’s (about 15 paintings total have been positively authenticated as by da Vinci) and their desirability among museums and private collectors. The book follows the painting winding road from its acquisition by two art dealers to its final sale in 2017 by a middle-eastern prince.Two art dealers, Alexander Parrish and Robert Simon, acquired the painting for about $10,000 in 2005 suspecting it might be an authentic Leonardo. What follows is a turbulent, often head-scratching but ultimately compelling story. A mix of characters and institutions, most of which are honorable while a few are sordid, including auction representatives, museum curators, meticulous restorers, skeptical academics, shady dealers become part of the painting’s history. The book includes details about Leonardo and when he might have painted the work and its provenance traced back 500 years. Former owners include Charles I, Charles II and James II of England. There was and still is a great deal of mystery about this painting.Parrish and Simon go about the painstaking process of initially authenticating the painting and meeting huge resistance from the art world. One museum curator from the Bible Belt disparaged the painting calling it somewhat effeminate (but not in those words). Others simply decided it was a bad painting which couldn’t possibly be by Leonardo. And not a few thought it was a fake. Authentication today is not what it was even 50 years ago. Cutting edge technology can assist in authenticating many aspects of old master paintings, such as determining age and the chemical makeup of the paints used. (Today it’s much more difficult to fake an old master painting with any hope of fooling the experts.)Others questioned the restoration work, saying that even if it was a real Leonardo, most of the master’s brush strokes were gone. For 10 years, Parrish and Simon lose money, paying for restoration, appraisals and trips seeking potential buyers. Unbeknownst to them, a Russian oligarch has been on a spending spree of fine art, using an “agent” to help him find works. Then it turns out his “agent” was scamming him, which turns into a media circus when lawsuits involving several of the participants are filed with several governments worldwide!An incredible story which gives us lay people a glimpse into the erratic world of the high-end of the fine art market, especially the motivated dealers and the trophy-desiring buyers. Many of these expensive paintings are sold for two reasons: as trophy prizes and commodity investments. They are not always sold to people who are honestly interested in the artwork for its own sake. A rich oligarch or member of the nobility buy them as showpieces to flaunt their wealth and influence. Simultaneously, they may buy the art as a way to hide taxable income from authorities. Tragically, the people who appreciate these works are either art academics or resellers. But they themselves can’t really afford the fine art they appraise, authentic, and/or sell.

⭐I’m so glad I bought this. I knew nothing at all about art history, thought it was probably concerned with memorising dates and remembering the difference between Monet and Manet. But there’s so much more – it took me into a world I’d never really thought about.So – who painted it in the first place? Did they have help? Whose help? Who copied, and what? Clues to its being Leonardo … clues to its not being … goodness me.Then – who bought it? Why? Did they know what they were buying? Whom were they trying to impress?How long did it spend time unrecognised on strange walls? Who passed it by without recognising it? Why did a couple of art dealers decide to take a punt on its being a genuine Leonardo?Then – and this is fascinating – what constitutes ‘restoration’ and where do you draw then line between restoration and re-painting? Why wasn’t the restoration better documented? (Not to mention lots of interesting information about how Leonardo got skin to glow and drapery to fold).And finally – who’s buying art nowadays, and why? Do they know what they’re doing? Who’s being naive, and who’s being cunning … and where’s the damn thing gone to, because it seems to be hidden away again.I learned so much; it’s such a well-written story; I’m really pleased that I read it. Whether or not you’re a budding art historian, do buy it.

⭐A well researched and entertaining read that effortlessly weaves together Leonardo’s life with the discovery and sale of the painting and the bigger picture of the art world. If I have a quibble, I would have liked more photographs of paintings mentioned or a link to more to keep down costs. Also some of the captions to the paintings in the book of other examples of Salvator Mundi (and there are a lot) could be clearer as could links to written references to the visual paintings provided. Both could be numbered to help the reader easily refer to them and know which painting was being discussed or described.Nevertheless, informative and well researched but still a real page turner.

⭐Can a work of art ever be worth $400 million? If so, how could this one be worth it? Twenty years ago the ‘Salvator Mundi’ was a tattered wreck of a painting, believed to be at best a studio copy, or possibly a copy of a studio copy, of a lost original which may or may not have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Mr Lewis tells the scarcely credible story of how it came by 2018 to be sold as an authentic Leonardo by one of the world’s leading auction houses for several times as much as the previous record for any work of art. His account, though clearly based upon exhaustive research, is at times scarcely credible and at other times hilarious. I look forward to his discovery of why the gallery that bought the painting is now so shy of showing it.

⭐A fascinating account of the events leading up to the sale in 2017 of ‘Salvatore Mundi’ as a newly discovered and restored work by Leonardo da Vinci of Christ the Saviour of the World. A detective-style account of the process that led to this event and of the different opinions about the painting. It is heavily restored; some parts of it are Leonardo-esque, some more like paintings painted by others in his workshop. Yet the painting has the unique Leonardo style, expression and quality: in my view if he had painted Christ in Majesty this painting would be it. The book also provides a commentary on the art market and the huge sums exchanged. The painting is now in a secure storage vault but anyone can access photographs of it already on the internet and form their own opinion.

⭐I loved this, there’s so much more to art history than I ever imagined.

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