Often considered the male Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci‘s Salvator Mundi became the most expensive painting ever sold in history when it auctioned for a staggering $450.3 million USD back in 2017, but the story isn’t as simple as many believe. Diving deep into the mysterious origins of this legendary art piece, The Lost Leonardo is an upcoming documentary exploring the darker side of its discovery.
According to its synopsis, the documentary follows Salvator Mundi as it was first purchased merely for $1,100 USD in a shady New Orleans auction house, and subsequently underwent cheap restoration. To the surprise of its buyers, they later discover masterful brushstrokes lying underneath the new work, and the painting became what most believe to be a long-lost masterpiece from da Vinci himself. As its price skyrockets, many began to question its authenticity, but the documentary suggests that there’s much more at play here than the art itself, including a power-play between “the world’s richest men and most powerful art institutions.”
For those interested, The Lost Leonardo will premiere in theaters across New York and Los Angeles on August 13, followed by a national release shortly after.
Elsewhere in entertainment, Netflix has just released the main trailer for Kingdom: Ashin of the North.
