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    The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting
    Unavailable
    The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting
    Unavailable
    The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting

    Written by Ben Lewis

    Narrated by Peter Noble

    4/5

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    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    In 2017 the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. But is it a real da Vinci? In a thrilling narrative built on formidable research, Ben Lewis tracks the extraordinary journey of a masterpiece lost and found, lied and fought over across the centuries.

    In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s small oil painting, the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as saviour of the world is ‘the rarest thing on the planet by the greatest human being who ever lived’. Its dazzling price also makes it the world’s most expensive painting.

    For two centuries art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardo’s assistants in the first half of the sixteenth century. But where was the original by the master himself?

    In November 2017, Christie’s auction house announced they had it. But did they? The Last Leonardo tells a thrilling tale of a spellbinding icon invested with the power to make or break the reputations of scholars, billionaires, kings and sheikhs. Lewis takes us to Leonardo’s studio in Renaissance Italy; to the court of Charles I and the English Civil War; to Holland, Moscow and Louisiana; to the galleries, salerooms and restorer’s workshop as the painting slowly, painstakingly, emerged from obscurity. The vicissitudes of the highly secretive art market are charted across five centuries. It is a twisting tale of geniuses and oligarchs, double-crossings and disappearances, where we’re never quite certain what to believe. Above all, it is an adventure story about the search for lost treasure, and a quest for the truth.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateApr 18, 2019
    ISBN9780008313456
    Unavailable
    The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World’s Most Expensive Painting

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    Reviews for The Last Leonardo

    4/5

    46 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      By and large, a good and straightforward account of the history of the Salvator Mundi sold as a Leonardo painting in 2017 for an absurd amount of money. Lewis has talked to as many people involved as would talk to him and has researched widely and well. He covers the provenance and restoration and the debate over the painting, and of course delves into the details of the high-end art market and all its complications.However, Lewis doesn't always say things as clearly as he might, and I noticed a few infelicitous phrases: what is a "thick crust of paper" (p. 64), for example? And it is simply inaccurate to say that printed lists of sale prices are usually "only in the copy of the catalogue owned by the auction house" (p. 283). I'm sure folks more familiar with the painting will have more quibbles, but these were the ones I noticed.Generally, though, an excellent page-turner of a book.
    • 4/5
      Ben Lewis takes a look at a recently discovered artwork, entitled Salvator Mundi, that may have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1500. He traces the provenance, restoration, attribution, and controversies. It was hanging in a stairwell in a suburban house in New Orleans. It barely escaped Hurricane Katrina, was sold by an estate for $1175 in 2005, and eventually sold at auction in 2017, after restoration, for $450 million. Was this the work of da Vinci or a “studio effort?”

      Lewis takes the reader on a journey into the art world, shedding light on financial interests, reputations, and motivations of those involved. He traces the painting’s provenance back to Renaissance Italy, and the courts of Charles I and Louis XII. He outlines restoration techniques and how they have changed over the years. He takes a stand and makes his case. Along the way, we learn about da Vinci’s life and artistic methods. This book is detailed, thoroughly researched, and well-written. It will appeal to those interested in art history, the life of Leonardo da Vinci, or the inner workings of art collecting.
    • 3/5
      The ins and outs of the art world are fascinating. How does the value of a painting get determined? How can we be certain that pieces are in fact the product of the famous artist the museum plaque claims they are? What kind of labyrinthine journey has a particular painting gone on before being acquired either privately or by a museum? It turns out the art world is rife with disagreements about provenance, claims unable to truly be substantiated, and missing histories but none of this hampers the high prices sometimes paid for these disputed works. Author Ben Lewis tracks the journey of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, perhaps the original painting copied by his students and painted by the master himself, or perhaps not da Vinci's work entirely, or perhaps not at all da Vinci's, in his book The Last Leonardo.You'd never have guessed, when da Vinci's Salvator Mundi came up for auction and subsequently sold for the unheard of price of $450 million dollars, that it was the subject of much debate, allegations of fraud, and still simmering questions of provenance. Long the subject of conjecture and considered missing, the painting ostensibly reappeared in 2005, when, if it is in fact the Leonardo it is purported to be, it embarked on just the latest of a long line of travels through the art world. Lewis tracks the restoration of the painting, many of the major players involved in authenticating it as a da Vinci work, it's eventual exhibition despite the rules surrounding which paintings can be exhibited, and the questions still swirling around this impossibly valuable artwork. The story is involved, often convoluted, and unresolved. But that very difficulty in tracing the painting's past indisputably back to da Vinci, the financial dealings and their tax implications, and the explanation of da Vinci's artistic signature and whether those attributes are present in the Salvator Mundi or not, make the narrative thick and expansive. This is an art history tale about the possible provenance of one painting but also about the art world as a whole, both now and throughout history. It is about the sky-high prices art can command, the exclusivity and problems with private art collectors. It is also about the intersection of art and politics, art and wealth, art and perception/truth. Lewis meticulously and exhaustively researched his story but that sometimes results in too much minutia and a narrative that tries to follow too many threads. Some of it was truly fascinating while other parts really bogged down. The idea of a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting, albeit in poor condition, being discovered in a gallery in Louisiana for less than $2,000 is an intriguing one. It makes us all believe that we too might find something immeasurably valuable in our attics once day if we just look hard enough. The idea ends up being a bit more intriguing than the true story though, even with all of the twists and turns, at least for me.
    • 4/5
      In November 2017, a painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi newly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci sold at Christie’s for $450 million dollars, making it the most expensive painting ever sold up to that date. Art critic Lewis takes his readers through the painting’s history in an attempt to explain how that happened. It’s a story filled with twists and turns. The players include art dealers, restorers, appraisers, historians, collectors, and museums. Although the painting is presently attributed to Leonardo, some experts do not agree with this attribution, and Lewis explores other possible attributions for the painting. Will the painting retain its status as a Leonardo? Lewis’s account is thorough enough that readers will be able to form their own opinion about it.This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.
    • 4/5
      If it is as readable as fiction but is not, it must be quite a good story. Lots of good research, notable characters good and evil; even Trump gets a mention, are the drivers that sustain your interest in the fate of this painting through its history. Even today, there are still questions to be answered about its journey and fate.
    • 5/5
      I found this book to be something of a page-turner. I had to stop myself from flipping to the last pages to discover the verdict on whether the Salvator Mundi painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and sold for $450 million in 2017 was determined to actually be his work. The book explores this question with a sweeping tour through centuries of possible appearances and disappearances of the work. Was the work primarily or wholly by some member or members of his studio? Was the extensive restoration work so complete that the painting could still fairly be said to be a Leonardo? This well-written nonfiction book tells the story of the painting's uncertain provenance, and it also gives a detailed and fascinating look at aspects of Leonardo's life and work habits. The author also gives an in-depth look at the inner workings of the art world: the dealers, collectors, restorers, and scholars who shape the mystique and value of certain artists and their works. I very much enjoyed reading The Last Leonard and would highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Well researched true-life mystery and thriller! This book is packed with facts, myths, philosophies, art, art forgery, art history, cultural history, art collecting, techniques in proving provenance, etc. One will enjoy and appreciate this book. Understanding Leonardo is part of the puzzle. For example, “mathematicians from the University of California analyzed Leonardo’s knots a few years ago and found that they were made up of several broken strands, not a single one. Where necessary, illusion trumped science in Leonardo’s art.” When determining provenance, records of ownership sometimes have gaps spanning years and may stretch for decades. So why do we rely so much on techniques, materials, science to determine authenticity? You’ll learn about the detective work and Lewis, author, defines exactly what a provenance is, then takes the reader through the world of Leonardo, the world of the Masters, how Leonardo’s school functioned, how art was collected between the 16th and 21st centuries. This book brings us into today’s world of collecting art as an investment and motivations in social and political arenas as well. There is so much in “The Last Leonardo” on art itself, history, culture, philosophy and mystery. High recommend!
    • 4/5
      "The Last Leonardo" is several pieces in one: profile (of art dealers Alex Parish and Robert Simon); history (of Leonardo's workshop and the decades just preceding and following his death); and mystery—what is the real story behind this painting, the "Last Leonardo"? Is it really a Leonardo at all? There's also a New Yorker-style introduction to the economics of Old Master art sales, which is fascinating. The author was able to interview the Russian oligarch who was briefly the owner of the painting, which is now hidden from public view, the property of the Saudi thug-prince Mohammed bin Salman.Overall, it's a compelling and interesting read, which covers all its subjects in a way that combines detail with an intelligent, sometimes wry perspective. (If the detail sometimes becomes too much, it's easy to skip forward.) I feel that I learned a great deal about the provenance (historical chain of custody) of the paintings I enjoy so much, about the nitty-gritty and sometimes dirty work of art dealing, and about the lives of the super-rich. I came to an opinion about the painting's authenticity that is nuanced and, I think, likely to be accurate. In short, "The Last Leonardo" is one of those books that makes you feel smarter and better informed.
    • 4/5
      Readers may remember an art auction back in 2017 that made headlines for the sale of a heretofore unknown painting by Leonardo da Vinci for nearly half a billion dollars. Salvadore Mundi is a beautiful portrait of Christ as savior of the world painted on old walnut that has captured the imagination of many who've seen it. Although, even as a piece of history and as a magnificent work of art, it's hard to imagine buying it for $450M.Except it may not be by Leonardo - there's good indication that it may have been done by his studio workers. And it may be so damaged and restored that it's hard to claim it's still the original painting. Lewis masterfully tells the story of this painting, how it was discovered, and the controversy swirling around it. It's quite a story!
    • 5/5
      The author managed to cram several hundred years of art history in one relatively slim 300-page book. The sheer amount of detail is staggering, and could have been at least twice as long.
    • 4/5
      Is this portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), raising his right hand in blessing and cradling a clear orb in his left hand, the long-lost original by Leonardo da Vinci, or is it one of many copies that were painted by his assistants, possibly with a few touches by the master? That's the $450-million-dollar question ($450 million dollars being the amount for which it was auctioned at Christie's in 2017).The mystery painting began its emergence from obscurity in 2005, when two art dealers recognized something special in it, despite crumbling condition and disastrous attempts at restoration. They bought it for $1,175 from a little-known auction gallery in New Orleans and embarked on a quest to authenticate it. For every clue that pointed to Leonardo as its artist, however, there seemed to be another that pointed away.This extensively researched, well-written, and downright fascinating chronicle of efforts to determine the extent to which Leonardo participated in the production of the painting takes readers into the complex world behind the scenes of some of the world's foremost museums and into collectors' homes, both modest and palatial, as it traces the verifiable and the speculative movements of this extraordinary work of art and introduces its probable owners. Although important questions remain unanswered and perhaps unanswerable, this is required reading for lovers of art, especially those who collect it, and for other collectors, as well.
    • 4/5
      The title of this book is "The Last Leonardo". But as the book demonstrates, who knows? This is the tortuous story of the SALVATOR MUNDI, a portrait of Christ attributed (by some) to Leonardo da Vinci. The story begins by the purchase in 2005, sight unseen, of the painting from an undistinguished New Orleans auction house. The price: $1,175. The purchasers: Robert Simon and Alex Parish, two art dealers low down in the hierarchy of such. The end of the story to date: the sale of the painting (not by Simon/Parish) in 2017 for $450 million. The purchaser: a ruling Saudi prince. The picture has not been seen in public since the sale.This is my linear description of events. But the book is not linear. The chapters skip from 15th century Italy to today's Abu Dhabi, back to the Renaissance with stops in New York, Russia, London, Saudi Arabia, Paris and elsewhere. The reader's head spins at each new chapter in a different place and at a different time.We do learn, however, the complexity of attributions of autograph old masters. We learn how immense wealth in Russia, the Arabian peninsula and elsewhere has created a dangerous art market susceptible to fraud and underworld dealings - and, of course, lawsuits.Despite the jumpiness of the presentation, and the sometimes "gee whiz" exhortations by the author, we are skillfully immersed in a world most of us don't know. There is a good summation of the "plot" at the end of the book:"When Simon and Parish bought it, the painting was a piece of junk, a thrift-store picture sold at a rock-bottom price. Twelve years later they had persuaded one of the world's most revered museums, the two most powerful auction houses in the world, and two of the world's wealthiest men that this was a masterpiece by the greatest artist who ever lived."
    • 4/5
      The Last Leonardo is a thoroughly enjoyable and deeply researched investigation into the provenance and travails of the Salvator Mundi, a small painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci or someone else entirely (take your pick!). Having recently sold for $450 million, it is the world's most expensive painting and will probably never be exhibited! Ben Lewis has written a fast moving story that closely examines the state of the painting — highly damaged, repainted, cleaned and repainted again, so that if it actually was painted by Leonardo, there seems to be very little evidence of it remaining to be examined on this board. The tracing of the provenance of this particular Salvator Mundi reads like a fast paced thriller and the portraits of the dealers, researchers, restorers and collectors that become involved makes this a compelling story.Finally, of course, this is about a lot more than the love of renaissance painting. It is about obscene wealth, greed and amorality that has turned the art world into a crime scene that has overwhelmed any excitement that might have been generated by the discovery of a lost Leonardo. Then again, that is probably why the book is such a good read.
    • 4/5
      An entertaining book even for people only mildly interested in art, and art history, but for anyone with a real interest the book is a must have addition to their collection.
    • 3/5
      Mark me down as a Philistine. Or at least as someone who suffers from aphantasia, the inability to form pictures in one's mind -- and hence to see what others see in paintings. When I look at the photos in this book of the Salvator Mundi, a claimed Leonardo da Vinci painting, I see something that looks like it came from a paint-by-number kit. But that may not mean much; the Mona Lisa leaves me equally cold.And, right now, I'm rather happy about that, after reading this book's accounts of the disturbing world of the modern art market and its connection with international politics (and, one rather suspects, crime). Such decoration as I have in my home consists of images of medieval manuscripts, illuminated or at least decorated. One can find pages of medieval Vulgates and Books of Hours on eBay for less than one millionth of what this alleged Leonardo recently sold for, and why should one want more?But if I don't understand paintings, why am I reading a book about a Leonardo? That's easy. Because, while I don't understand paintings, I do understand documenting ancient and medieval works. I wanted to know how it was established that this was a da Vinci.I'm still wanting. The key to this whole story is the authenticity, or at least the antiquity, of this painting of the Salvator Mundi. The very first step should have been to bring the whole array of scientific techniques to bear on the painting: dendrochronology, raman spectroscopy, carbon dating, multi-spectrum photography -- there are many tools. The only one mentioned is dendrochronology (the dating of pieces of wood based on their tree rings) -- and even that is waved aside on the grounds that the painting is on a walnut panel, and dendrochronology doesn't work on walnut.I don't know if real research was done on this painting, and author Lewis ignored it, or if there truly is no reliable evidence that this painting is from the sixteenth century (let alone a da Vinci), but what we end up with is a painting that is "authenticated" based only by the opinions of squabbling art critics -- scholars whose opinions, if worth anything in the first place, are rendered much less reliable based simply on the fact that the Salvator Mundi was heavily damaged and overpainted over the years, and even when it came to modern attention, it was subjected to extreme "renovation." No wonder it looks like something you'd buy out of a roadside truck.We don't meet any references to the science of antiquities until page 165, and that is brief -- and is not by Lewis; it's a quote from another source. That lack of attention to science shows itself in ways both great and small. A small example is on page 30, where Lewis calls lapis lazuli a "semiprecious" stone. That's true today. It was not true in the sixteenth century, when lapis lazuli was the most precious of all pigments, rarer and more expensive even than gold.And that leads to what I suspect is a big error that starts on page 261, when Lewis tries to analyze where the Salvator Mundi was painted. He makes a great deal of the fact that Jesus is dressed in blue, and links that to the French court.I'd start somewhere else: the rarity of blue. The Middle Ages really had only two blues pigments, lapis lazuli and azurite, and the latter came to be expensive and the former was so costly that it was sometimes scraped off manuscripts and reused. The result was that medieval paintings of the Virgin Mary tended to show her in blue, because blue was the color that only the nobility could afford to wear. As Queen of Heaven, of course Mary would wear blue! And if Mary did, then wouldn't Jesus? That's not proof -- the colors in the photograph certainly don't look like lapis lazuli; I'd have guessed an indigo lake -- but I don't trust arguments based on ignoring obvious explanations.That all made this a rather unsatisfactory book to me. And it's mostly un-documented, which reduces its value. But I suspect that a lot of that is because it's covering contemporary events -- this is a story of things that happened in the last decade. The story has moved fast, making it hard to keep up to date. Give the book its due: It's well-written. And author Lewis did a good job of tracing the recent history of the painting. Plus it's a good exposé of the incredibly seamy world of high-value art collection. I feel as if it's only half the story, but it's half the story done well. If you want a fairly exciting tale of a famous painting, and are willing to accept the fact that there are vital things the book does not cover, you might enjoy this a lot.
    • 1/5
      Much ado about nothing: Fake paintings, fake people (but real crooks), and fake book. Lewis seems to have an axe to grind with what he frequently points out is the unregulated art market - so what? Rich crooks, sleazy auction houses and galleries deceiving one another is hardily new or news and they all deserve one another. He gets up on his high horse in the epilogue that perfectly closes out this dreary book.