“Salvator Mundi” is an enigma. It’s a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci that may or may not be painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, sold for record amounts of money.
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“The Lost Leonardo” is the latest documentary about the painting, and it might as well be a “whodunnit?.” To inject some suspense into this tale, director Andreas Koefoed has taken the story and wrapped it in a mysterious investigation that morphs into a marvelous revelation. It’s a well-trodden genre tactic, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. It keeps you guessing as to whether the painting is real or fake, Da Vinci’s or anonymous’s, whether it’s worth $450 million or it’s the art equivalent of a catfish on Tinder? Should an art dealer swipe, right?
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As with many mysteries, this one starts from the very beginning. In 2005, an art collector named Alexander Parrish found a painting called “After Leonardo,” which was going for somewhere around 1,200 dollars, a steal for something so luminously crafted. Even if it was a copy, Parrish thought it was special, the kind of thing that leaps off the canvas and occupies every molecule of your mind, heart, and body. Knowing only that it was worth more than the asking price, he reached out to art dealer/restorer Diane Modestini, who also saw its lyrical appeal. The skin was silk. The eyes shallow. The lips drawn without lines or borders. Could it be the lost Leonardo?
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The odds were one-in-a-million. You’d have better luck betting on the Knicks to win the NBA Finals. Still, they went through the necessary steps to authenticate the painting and found that it was indeed a Leonardo Da Vinci. That’s where things get interesting, as a peanut’s gallery of art experts, critics, buyers, and auction house owners, Russian oligarchs, and FBI agents weigh in on the discovery, many of whom are interviewed after “Salvator Mundi” was sold to a Saudi Prince, never to be seen again. “It’s the most improbable story that has ever happened in the art world,” says one expert. A painting by Leonardo Da Vinci pops up in New Orleans, 400 years after it was lost in Florence. Yeah, right.
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The documentary is a chronicle of Koefoed’s seemingly impossible journey to find the truth. With a little evidence and a whole lot of interviews, Koefoed strips back the layers until he gets to the painting’s origin, using piano keys, dark shadows, and shots of New York City’s skyline to heighten the suspense. He doesn’t just interview people who think “Salvator Mundi” is real or those who worked on the project, but also those who think it’s a “made-up piece of crap.” Leave it to Vulture critic Jerry Saltz to call the painting “terrible,” while an investor calls it “a masterpiece.” Koefed cuts between these two points of view to make a point.
If there’s a message in “The Lost Leonardo,” it’s that the truth is often obscured by those who have a stake in the answer. Critics get clicks by trashing the painting, while investors get money by hyping it up. There’s an enigma here. If we believe anyone in “The Lost Leonardo,” we believe someone who is only here to cover their tracks. Koefoed knows this and plays up the mystery with compelling results. [B+]