The Lost Leonardo Documentary on Starz

Salvator Mundi, Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recently, I watched The Lost Leonardo on Starz. Let me first say that the focus of the documentary is not about the religious subject matter/imagery in this painting. The movie focuses on the legacy and the mystery of how this painting was discovered, the history behind it, what makes a Leonardo a Leonardo, and the value of this rare find. FYI: There is also a book called The Last Leonardo by Ben Lewis, which is essentially the same story, goes more in-depth, and is an excellent read. I was also pleased to see some updated information about the painting in this movie, toward the end, that I do not remember being in the book.

This movie brought the story of the Salvator Mundi painting to life, with first-hand footage of the prime players of the saga. It talks about the people who first purchased the painting, the final owner who paid just over $450 million (the highest amount a painting had been sold for, at that time), and many others involved in the process. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding this painting, especially it’s provenance such as when and where it was created. This painting appeared out of the blue, more or less, and someone paid a little more than one thousand dollars for it, initially, when they weren’t sure what it was or who painted it. Without giving too much away, make sure to watch it all the way through to the end. There is updated and surprising information about the painting that emerges at the end of movie, that you won’t want to miss!

I thought the movie did a good job explaining the piece and it’s murky history, as best they could considering how little is truly known about it’s origin. They also did a decent job at interviewing those who were involved in every aspect of the process, including art critics, writers, museum workers, restorers, and art gallery employees etc. I think it was a good effort and it pulled back the curtains of the art markets, especially dealing with the provenance of works, monetary values, and the process of selling paintings. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if this was completed by the hand of Leonardo, his workshop, someone else entirely, or a combination.

Also, I’ve added some new images, so be sure to scroll through the website and have a look. Watch for another blog that I’ll publishing shortly. Thank you for your support!

#TheLostLeonardo #Leonardo #LeonardoDaVinci #DaVinci

Copyright 2022 Tim Bovey.