Portrait of Christ sells for a record $450.3 million

Leonardo da Vinci‘s portrait of Christ sells for a record breaking $450.3 million at New York auction.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Portrait of Christ ‘Salvator Mundi,’ commissioned by Louis XII of France in 1506.

The portrait that was in England for 400 years vanished in around 1900 and resurfaced in 1958, were it sold for $60, because it was attributed to Da Vinci student Giovanni Boltraffio.

Christie’s just put it on for $100m, but unnamed bidder paid $450m.

This stunning price reflects the extreme rarity of paintings by Leonardo da Vinci — there are fewer than 20 in existence acknowledged as being from the artist’s own hand, and all apart from Salvator Mundi  are in museum collections.

source Christie’s