The Lost Leonardo: A Fascinating Doc That Parks at the Intersection of Art, Power and Money

By Karen Gordon

Rating: A 

In a dramatic auction at Christie's in 2015, an anonymous bidder paid a staggering $450 million for Salvator Mundi, a painting believed, by some  to have been painted by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci.  

As it turns out that record-breaking price is the least interesting thing revealed in Andreas Koefoed’s fascinating documentary The Lost Leonardo.

The story starts in 2005, when American ‘sleeper hunter’ Alexander Parish was digging through lots at a New Orleans auction house and came across a heavily damaged painting, done in a style from the 15th Century. It featured an image of a serene Jesus against a black background, right hand raised as if offering a benediction.

Is Salvator Mundi a legit Leonardo? The experts still debate that $450 million question.

Going on his gut, Parish and his business partner, art dealer Robert Simon, bought the painting for $1,175.

To repair the damage, Parish and Simon, turned to one of the most reputable art conservationists in the world, New York-based Dianne Modestini.  The painstaking restoration brought her into intimate contact with the painting daily. Modestini saw something in the style of the painting, a grace note if you will, that stopped her in her tracks.  

She believed that this painting was by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci.

This is no small thing. Da Vinci is arguably the most famous and influential Renaissance painter. There are fewer than 20 of his paintings in the world. And so, the discovery of another would be of immeasurable value, culturally and monetarily. 

But, how to determine whether this was by the hand of Leonardo, an homage done by one of his students, or just a good copy of a Leonardo by a near contemporary?  Modestini worked slowly and painstakingly on her restoration. When she was done, the painting was subjected to examinations by a range of art and da Vinci experts around the world.  

With Salvator Mundi’s growing reputation igniting excitement around the world, Parish, Simon and a third partner, did what they’d always intended, and put the painting on the market. They sold the work to a controversial Swiss businessman and art dealer named Yves Bouvier, for $83 million. He turned around, and sold it within 48 hours to a client, a Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev for $127.5 million (for a personal profit of $44.5 million). 

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Bouvier’s profit would ultimately inspire the oligarch to put the painting back on the market and into that Christie’s auction in 2015. There it was bought by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

By then, the painting had been analyzed by a series of art and Leonardo experts. It was part of a blockbuster Leonardo exhibition at London’s National Gallery where it was presented as a “da Vinci autograph.” This means it was painted by his hand, and not by one of his studio assistants, again making it a priceless treasure. 

This came about despite mixed responses by the experts and credible questions by others in the art world. But those who believed it was indeed a lost Leonardo dubbed it “the male Mona Lisa” and felt that it should be displayed next to that masterwork. 

Was there a rush to judgment? Did people see what they wanted to see? Did Modestini’s restoration recreate a da Vinci-like work, inspired by her own feelings? Did Christie’s marketing campaign effectively convince art collectors to tune out questions about the work?

Director Koefoed spent three years putting the film together and was able to get many key people on camera, including the two men who originally bought the painting, Modestini, who has never spoken on camera before about her role in all of this, and businessman Bouvier, who is fighting a number of international court cases, civil and criminal litigation in at least five international jurisdictions.   

Others weighing in include Leonardo experts and museum curators, (who have varying opinions) and critics, including Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz, and renegade art critic and writer Kenny Schachter , both of whom are deeply skeptical of the painting, the process of determining its origins and the role chasing massive profits played in the perception of the work. 

As well, the film looks at the Freeports, where the very rich buy masterpieces and lock them in high end storage units for a range of reasons, some of of them legal, some of them, perhaps, not. 

Everyone speaks openly on camera. It’s a fascinating stew of opinions, observations, and varying motivations. 

So, is it a true Leonardo? Will we ever know? Currently the painting is in private hands, with the precise location being the subject of speculation. 

Given who is alleged to have painted this work, the question at the center of the film would normally be the truth of this painting, as near as our modern technology can determine it.

Instead, The Lost Leonardo delivers a much more complex and revealing narrative. It’s a story about the intersection between art, history, power, commerce, greed and the desire to possess something rare just to own it.  

While people play power games, and the very richest humans on the planet buy masterpieces only to lock them up, the questions the film poses are both complex and simple.  And perhaps the most poignant and important point belongs to Dianne Modestini, when she asks, who really owns a masterwork, even a disputed one.  Is it something that can ever belong to one person, or does it, in the end, more rightly belong to the world.

Koefoed’s stylishly made film takes its time, gives everyone their due, and leaves us with some profoundly interesting questions. 

The Lost Leonardo. Directed by Andreas Koefoed. Starring Dianne Modestini, Yves Bouvier and Alexander Parish. Opens theatrically August 27th in Toronto (Canada Square), Vancouver (International Village) and Montreal (Cineplex Forum) with further dates to be announced.