The painting of Christ, nicknamed "The Mona Lisa," was sold at an auction held by Christie's in New York for $ 450 million in 2017.

 

Later media reported that the secret buyer of the painting was the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, despite Riyadh's denial of the matter.

 

The issue of the painting reappeared after its absence from the planned appearance at the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi in 2018, and then at the Da Vinci exhibition that was held at the Louvre Museum in Paris in 2019.

 

It is expected that French television will present the movie "The Savior for Sale", next week, to reveal what is going on about the painting behind the scenes.

 

Senior officials in the government of French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed during their appearance in the film that the Louvre's scientific analysis of the painting concluded that it had been drawn in Da Vinci's workshop, but his role was limited to that he only "contributed" by drawing it, but did not draw it completely.

 

According to one of the officials in the film, "things became incomprehensible" after bin Salman asked to show "Salvatore Mundi next to the Mona Lisa" and present it as "100 percent of Da Vinci's work."

 

The film alleges that some French government officials, including Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, lobbied in favor of bin Salman's request.

 

The officials expressed concern about the impact of the matter on the strategic relationship between France and Saudi Arabia.

 

However, the documentary said that Macron decided to reject bin Salman's request, leaving it to the Louvre to negotiate with the Saudis over how to display the painting.

 

According to Chris Dercon, head of one of the largest museums in France, "the Saudis are afraid of this argument about authenticity."

 

 Dercon added that the Saudis "are afraid that people at home and abroad will say: I spent all this money on something that is not for Da Vinci."

 

The painting was sold, in 2005, for only $ 1,175, when it was bought by an art dealer in New York, before it was restored.

 

A number of British experts had certified the painting as a long lost Da Vinci painting, before it was shown on this basis at the National Gallery in London in 2011.

 

Source: France Press