The Lost Leonardo
The Lost Leonardo is a 2021 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Andreas Koefoed. It follows the discovery and successive sales of the "Salvator Mundi" painting, allegedly done by Leonardo da Vinci, an artist for whom there are only a few attributed works in existence. The film chronicles the dramatic increases in the painting's value from its original purchase in 2005 for $1,175 to its auction in 2017 for $450 million when it became the most expensive artwork to be sold in history. The use of high-end artwork for hiding wealth, as  well as the conflicts created by large commissions and other economic incentives, are explored in the film. It includes interviews with leading art experts and art critics on issues regarding the provenance and the authenticity of the work. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 13, 2021, and was released in the United States on August 13, 2021, by Sony Pictures Classics, and will be in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2021, by Dogwoof. The film was praised by critics for its portrayal of the subject as a thriller. Plot. The film opens  by introducing the two American art dealers, Alexander Parish and Robert Simon, who buy a painting titled "After Leonardo" at a 2005 auction in New Orleans auction for $1,175. Both think the work is a "sleeper", a painting that is by a much better artist than realized, although neither considers it is actually by da Vinci. They show it to New York art restorer Dianne Modestini, who cleans away the overpainting and discovers the position of a thumb has moved, suggesting the painting is an original. She also finds that the lips are drawn with no line, a technique  common to other da Vinci paintings, and which she took as a sign that the work was indeed by da Vinci. Modestini completes an extensive restoration of the work that lasts from 2005 to 2013 in an attempt to bring it back to its original condition. Parish and Simon engage art dealer Warren Adelson. In 2008, they present the work to a curator of the British National Gallery, Luke Syson, who invites five Leonardo experts including Maria Teresa Fiorio and Martin Kemp to view the picture, but he is ambiguous about whether they ever formally authenticated it as a painting  by da Vinci; Fiorio says she did not authenticate the piece. In 2011, Syson controversially includes it in a National Gallery exhibition of da Vinci's works with the label, "by Leonardo da Vinci". Sotheby's are then engaged to sell the painting with an asking price of $200 million but find little interest. German art historian Professor Bernd Lindemann of the Gemäldegalerie declined the painting for purchase saying: "Most of the painting is a remake and this was, for me, the argument to say, 'No, this is not a painting for the Gemäldegalerie'". German Leonardo expert Frank Zöllner  is also interviewed, saying: "You have the old parts of the painting which are original—these are by pupils—and the new parts of the painting, which look like Leonardo, but they are by the restorer. In some part, it’s a masterpiece by Dianne Modestini". The film then alludes to Modestini's financial interest in the painting the details of which she declines to disclose, saying: "He [Simon] paid me generously". The film then introduces businessman Yves Bouvier, a developer and owner of Freeports, and describes how he has become an art dealer in his own right due to  the amount of art that clients have deposited in his Freeports around the world. The film explains how high-end art has become a tool for wealth management by people who need to be able to physically carry and secretly move large amounts of wealth around the world outside of the banking system. In 2013, Bouvier showed the painting to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev who engages him to purchase the work. Bouvier hires a professional poker player to negotiate with Sotherby's and agrees on a price of $83 million, but he tells Rybolovlev the price is $127.5  million. When Rybolovlev discovers the deception and realizes that there have been numerous other deceptions, he legally pursues Bouvier (known as The Bouvier Affair), who tells the film he has since lost everything. In 2017, Rybolovlev hires Christie's to sell his entire portfolio and they market the painting as the "male "Mona Lisa"" and create a promotional video that includes Leonardo DiCaprio. The painting breaks the previous record for an art sale selling for $400 million, with an additional $50 million of commission to Christie's. Word leaks that the buyer is Mohammed bin Salman and that  the painting is being kept on his yacht. The film switches to a 2019–20 da Vinci exhibition at the Louvre where the painting is expected to be shown. In advance of the exhibition, bin Salman visits the Louvre with Emmanuel Macron and a publication appears in the museum's shop that authenticates the painting as being by da Vinci. However, in a dramatic twist, the painting fails to appear at the exhibition and the publication is removed from the shop with the Louvre denying that it was an official Louvre publication. The film ends by speculating that bin Salman pulled  the painting as the Louvre would not show it alongside the "Mona Lisa", and that he might instead be planning to show it in a new dedicated museum in Saudi Arabia. Cast. Interviewed in the four sections are: Discovery and restoration: Authentification and 2011 National Gallery exhibition: 2013 sale to Bouvier and then to Rybolovlev: 2017 sale by Rybolovlev to Mohammed bin Salman and postponed Louvre exhibition: Production. In October 2019, it was announced Andreas Koefoed would direct the film, with Dogwoof set to distribute in the United Kingdom. Release. In March 2021, Sony Pictures Classics acquired U.S. distribution rights  to the film. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 13, 2021. It also screened at AFI Docs on June 26, 2021. It was released United States on August 13, 2021, and in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2021. Reception. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 78 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critics praised the film for its portrayal of  the story as a thriller. "Times" film critic Kevin Maher awarded the film 5/5 stars calling it "..a thrilling examination of art world". "Guardian" film critic Peter Bradshaw awarded the film 4/5 stars saying that "The story of the hotly disputed discovery and sales of a purported new Leonardo da Vinci work doesn’t paint the art market in a flattering light". "Variety" film critic Owen Gleiberman called it "An Enthralling Art-World Mystery That Only Starts By Asking: Is It or Isn’t It?". "Financial Times" film critic Danny Leigh also gave the film 4/5 stars saying that "So  riveting is the documentary The Lost Leonardo, you can imagine namesake Leonardo DiCaprio starring in the dramatisation". "Washington Post" film critic Annabel Aguiar gave the film 3.5/4 stars calling it "... an art documentary that plays like a thriller". Glenn Kenny at the "New York Times" added the film to his "Critics Pick" list, saying that it "..packs the fascination and wallop of an expertly executed fictional thriller".