The Vatican Should Buy The Last Da Vinci
On Wednesday evening, November 15th, Christie’s auction house will facilitate the sale of one of only a handful of known paintings in the world by Leonardo da Vinci. It is estimated that the painting will sell for over $100 million dollars. Although there has been some skepticism about the legitimacy of this work of art, and whether it has been properly accredited to da Vinci, let’s for the purposes of this argument, assume that it is what the auction house claims it to be. The portrait is that of Salvator Mundi, or “The Savior of the World”; in layman’s terms, it’s a portrait of Jesus. Whatever your religious beliefs, or opinions on religion and art, you cannot deny that a painting of arguably one of the most influential people in history, done by Leonardo da Vinci, arguably the most well known and renowned painter in history, is an object that holds some extreme cultural significance and value for a lot of people.
The nature of an auction is such, that this painting will be up for sale to the highest bidder. God forbid (pun intended) that this painting should fall into the hands of some billionaire investor or hedge fund, and subsequently be locked in a vault and never seen again by the public. I think most could agree that this painting, to quote from Indiana Jones, “belongs in a museum”. But the auction estimate for its sale is upwards of $100 million. There isn’t a museum that could justify that type of expenditure on a single work of art. Hedge funds, and wealthy art investors, have the ability to make astronomical bids on works of art like this one, because they know that the value of the painting will continue to grow over time, and if needed, they can always resell it; some make good profits this way. Museums don’t have this kind of ability, since they purchase art to add to their collections, without any intention to resell them; $100 million dollars spent by a museum on a painting is $100 million lost.
So who can stop this painting from falling back into private hands, and by so doing ensure that thousands upon thousands of people might be able to experience and share this piece of our history and culture together for generations to come? I propose: The Vatican. For the Vatican to purchase this painting by Leonardo da Vinci makes great sense for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, it’s a painting of Jesus, so it would certainly fit in well with the Vatican’s art collection. The Catholic Church could make an argument to justify this type of expenditure as being in the interest of preserving and protecting a most important object of the Christian faith.
Secondly, the painter, Leonardo da Vinci, was an Italian. This could potentially be an incredible homecoming for this work of art, to become a shared treasure of the Italian people, and of the nation as a whole.
Thirdly, the Vatican has the funds to be able to purchase it. A 1965 article in TIME magazine estimated the Vatican’s wealth at between $10 and $15 Billion, and that was in 1965.
Fourth, this purchase could only serve to benefit the Vatican, in adding to its renown and appeal to visitation from tourists, art historians, and religious pilgrims around the world. The Vatican could add to the justification for this purchase, by thinking of it as an investment in those future tourism revenues that it could perpetually bring to the church, and the surrounding city of Rome.
Finally, the Vatican should purchase and display this painting by Leonardo Da Vinci as a service to people around the world. Not only for Christian’s, but for people of all faiths and religions. We all can see the value of preserving, observing, and continuing to learn from our collective cultural heritage. If it were to purchase and publicly exhibit the painting “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci, the Catholic Church would be doing a great service to it’s own constituents as well as to all those around the world that appreciate beauty and culture in art.
-J
(Above video from Christie’s auction house YouTube page)
P.S.
Following the sale it was later revealed that the successful buyer of the painting (For a staggering $450 million) was a Saudi Prince, (see article linked below) and the painting is now scheduled to be placed on exhibit at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Regardless of your opinions on wealth inequality in the world, or on the politics of the Saudi royal family, I think that this is a good resolution to the story of this painting. As outlined in the above argument posted before the sale, one of the most important goals from my perspective is that this painting should be available to the collective public for viewing, to be seen and studied. The decision of a private collector to purchase the painting for exhibit at an established institution satisfies this goal.