The Authenticity of Salvator Mundi

 

Anyway, these kinds of stories never end.

I can understand the sentiment, but I can't help but wonder if the quality of the painting couldn't be improved a bit. When it's this bad, it's hard to even take it seriously.

As for the painting, my impression is that there is no Leonardo-like depiction anywhere, either overall or in part.

The worst thing about it is the composition. Leonardo loved compositions with strong twisting movements, and conversely, he hated flat, featureless compositions. The composition of this Salvator Mundi is exactly the kind of flat, motionless composition that Leonardo hated, so I think it's too much of a stretch to attribute it to Leonardo. And since the composition itself is not by Leonardo, this work couldn't even have been made in his workshop.

The details are also very rough, and there is something very strange about the way the hair is drawn.

What launched the painter Leonardo into the world was his depiction of the angel's magnificent curly hair in the Baptism of Christ, painted at Verrocchio's workshop. It is no exaggeration to say that the success of this work shaped Leonardo's later works, and there is something unmatched about the way Leonardo painted curly hair.

The depiction of the curly hair in Salvator Mundi is so poorly done that there is no need to say anything more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It contains a detailed description of the history of Salvator Mundi.
https://salvatormundirevisited.com/History-of-the-Salvator-Mundi

Jonathan Jones' report on Salvator Mundi
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/sep/09/lost-leonardo-da-vinci-film-solved-mystery-worlds-most-expensive-painting-salvator-mundi