Salvator Mundi

Salvator Mundi depicts Christ as Savior of the World, holding a crystal orb in his left hand and raising his right in blessing. Painted around 1500, it was long thought to be a copy until its rediscovery and restoration in 2005 led to attribution to Leonardo himself, though this remains debated among scholars. The painting became the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction when it fetched 450.3 million dollars at Christie's in November 2017. It was purchased for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, though it has not been publicly displayed since the sale.

The face of Christ displays Leonardo's characteristic sfumato with the softest possible transitions between tones, while the crystal orb notably lacks the optical distortion that a solid sphere would produce — a deliberate artistic choice or possible evidence of workshop participation. The symmetrical frontal composition is unusual for Leonardo, echoing Byzantine icon traditions, and the meticulous rendering of the jeweled stole demonstrates virtuoso technique in depicting reflective surfaces.