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The Lost Leonardo
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Wikipedia article
'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 ever sold. 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 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.
Synopsis
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 Gemldegalerie 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 Gemldegalerie'". German Leonardo expert Frank Zllner is also interviewed, saying: "You have the old parts of the painting which are originalthese are by pupilsand the new parts of the painting, which look like Leonardo, but they are by the restorer. In some part, its 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 201920 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:
* Alexander Parish, an American art dealer (and "sleeper hunter") who found the painting in New Orleans in 2005
* Robert Simon, an American art historian and art dealer who bought the painting with Parish in 2005
* Dianne Modestini, an American art restoration expert who cleaned and restored the painting from 2005 to 2017
* Warren Adelson, an American art dealer engaged by Parish and Simon to value and help sell the painting
Authentification and 2011 National Gallery exhibition:
* Luke Syson, former British curator at the National Gallery who was the first to exhibit the work "by Leonardo" in 2011
* Martin Kemp, British fine art historian and academic
* Maria Teresa Fiorio, Italian fine art historian and academic
* , German fine art curator at the Gemldegalerie in Berlin
* Frank Zllner, German fine art historian and academic
* Kenny Schachter, American art expert, art writer, and art collector
* Georgina Adam, British art expert, art writer, and art journalist
* Jerry Saltz, American Pulitzer prize-winning art critic and art journalist
2013 sale to Bouvier and then to Rybolovlev:
* Yves Bouvier, Swiss businessman and art dealer who purchased the painting in 2013 and then sold it weeks later to his client Dmitry Rybolovlev
* Bruce Lamarche, a business associate of Bouvier and expert in the activities of Freeports
* Robert King Wittman, founder and former leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team (ACT)
* Doug Patteson, former CIA officer
* Evan Beard, head of Fine Art services at Bank of America
* Alexandra Bregman, art writer and art journalist who wrote a book on The Bouvier Affair
2017 sale by Rybolovlev to Mohammed bin Salman and postponed Louvre exhibition:
* Alison Cole, a British art historian and editor of 'The Art Newspaper' who was the first to reveal a Louvre book authenticating the painting
* Antoine Harari, a French investigative journalist who phone interviews the Louvre about their withdrawal of their book authenticating the painting
* Jacques Franck, a French fine art restorer, and Leonardo specialist who wrote to Macron warning him against displaying the painting at the Louvre
* , a French art historian and art journalist who published the book withdrawn by the Louvre
* Stphane Lacroix, art academic and expert in Middle Eastern art and art buyers
* Bradley Hope, an American investigative journalist and author of books on bin Salman
* David Kirkpatrick, an American journalist who wrote a 'New York Times' article stating bin Salman bought the painting
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 worldwide distribution rights excluding the United Kingdom, France and Germany 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 doesnt 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 Isnt 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".
Awards
*6th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards, Best Documentary Feature (Nominated)
*Stockholm International Film Festival, Bronze Horse Award (Nominated)
See also
*Economics of the arts and literature
*List of works by Leonardo da Vinci
*List of most expensive paintings
*'The Price of Everything', a 2018 American documentary film about contemporary art valuations
References
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