Savior of the world, Painting by Leonardo da Vinci - Description

Leonardo da Vinci created his "Savior of the World" between 1499-1510, according to various studies and, allegedly, it became the last work of the prominent master.

It is written in an iconographic genre on a walnut board. Christ makes the sign of the cross with his right hand. He is dressed in blue clothes, in line with the pictorial tradition of the Renaissance. His eyelids are slightly lowered, but owing to his eyes, shown brightly and expressly, the gaze seems to thread the viewer, going straight into his soul.

The all-dark background of the portrait makes it look even brighter, creating a feeling of the glow of the skin of Christ, as if a divine radiance emanates from him.

In his left hand, Jesus is holding a transparent sphere, symbolizing the earth.

For a long time, the experts who studied the painting could not agree on why the folds of clothing behind it did not get distorted. One could hardly believe that a great master who studied optics, managed to make such a mistake.

But at the end of the day, scientists evaluated the distance from the sphere to the body of Jesus, while being hollow inside, for the least distortion to be created from the viewer's point.

In 2017, this subject work was acquired at Christie's for the overwhelming $400 million, to set a world record as the most expensive piece of art.

At the same time, this canvas remains the main apple of discord among connoisseurs and experts, since there were many copies created by Leonardo's students, thirty of them known, and some of the collectors insist on the true authenticity of the very painting they do own.

Disputes do not abate for many years, due to the fact that the history of the preservation of the picture from the moment of its creation and the way it could become a part of any private collection, has never been documented.