The Louvre Abu Dhabi will put Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Salvator Mundi" on display from Sept. 18.
In this Oct. 24, 2017 file photo, an employee poses with Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" on display at Christie's auction rooms in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism made the announcement in a statement Wednesday about the Renaissance oil painting of Christ, whose name in Latin means "Savior of the World." The painting depicts a blue-robed Jesus holding a crystal orb and gazing directly at the viewer.
In this Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 file photo, bidding representatives react after Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" sold for dollars 450 million at Christie's, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
The painting sold for $450 million during a record-breaking auction in New York at Christie's in November.
Western diplomats say a Saudi royal acting as a proxy for Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the buyer. The Saudi Embassy in Washington says the Saudi royal purchased the painting on behalf of the museum in Abu Dhabi, which opened just days before the auction.
VIENNA (AP) — A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost was sold at an auction in Vienna on Wednesday for 30 million euros ($32 million).
The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. Bidding started at 28 million euros, and the sale price was at the lower end of an expected range of 30-50 million euros.
The painting went to a bidder from Hong Kong, who wasn't identified.
The Im Kinsky auction house said that “a painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades.”
The intensely colored painting was auctioned on behalf of the current owners, Austrian private citizens whose names weren't released, and the legal heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser, one of whom is believed to have commissioned the painting. It's not entirely clear which member of the Lieser family was the model.
Klimt left the painting, with small parts unfinished, in his studio when he died of a stroke in early 1918 and it was given to the family who had commissioned it, according to the auction house.
The Jewish family fled Austria after 1930 and lost most of their possessions.
It's unclear exactly what happened to the painting between 1925 and the 1960s, a period that includes the Nazi dictatorship. Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938.
The auction house says there is no evidence that the painting was confiscated then, but also no proof that it wasn't. It ended up with the current owners through three successive inheritances.
In view of the uncertainty, an agreement was drawn up with the current owners and the Liesers' heirs to go forward with the sale under the Washington Principles, which were drafted in 1998 to assist in resolving issues related to returning Nazi-confiscated art.
The auction house said it was very happy with Wednesday's result.
The sale price was an art auction record for Austria. The highest price previously paid at an auction in the country was just over 7 million euros for a work by Frans Francken the Younger in 2010.
A man looks at the painting 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt prior to an auction, in Vienna, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost has been sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
A man looks at the painting 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt prior to an auction, in Vienna, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost has been sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
Attendees take photographs of the painting 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt during an auction, in Vienna, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost has been sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
Auctioneer Michael Kovacek declares the sale of the painting 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt during an auction, in Vienna, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost has been sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
A man looks at the painting 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt prior to an auction, in Vienna, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost has been sold at an auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. (AP Photo/Christian Bruna)
