'The Lost Leonardo' Is a Priceless Piece of Art History at the Virtual KCET Cinema Series on Aug. 10
Q&A immediately following with director/co-writer Andreas Koefoed and art restorer of the Salvator Mundi, Dianne Modestin.
A fascinating and provocative documentary about the Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci and recently restored. Although there is no evidence from his lifetime that the artist painted it himself, it is the most expensive painting ever sold — for $450.3 million to an undisclosed buyer at Christie’s in New York in 2017. The strange story of this mysterious and controversial painting unfolds as a real-life thriller involving prominent and shady figures from the worlds of art, finance and politics.
Director Andreas Koefoed shared, "This is a film about the incredible journey of a painting, the Salvator Mundi, the Saviour of the World, possibly by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a true story, yet a fairytale worthy of H.C. Andersen: A damaged painting, neglected for centuries, is fortuitously rediscovered and soon after praised as a long-lost masterpiece of divine beauty. At its peak in the spotlight, it is decried as a fake, but what is revealed most of all is that the world around it is fake, driven by cynical powers and money.
The story lays bare the mechanisms of the human psyche, our longing for the divine, and our post-factual capitalist societies in which money and power override the truth. The painting becomes a prism through which we can understand ourselves and the world we live in. To this day there is no conclusive proof that the painting is — or is not — a da Vinci and as long as there is a doubt, people, institutions, and states can use it for the purpose that serves them the most."
Immediately following the screening, Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET’s Must See Movies, will moderate a Q&A with director/co-writer Andreas Koefoed and art restorer of the Salvator Mundi, Dianne Modestin.
The film screens on Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. PDT. Only $10 per viewing link. Limited space available.
To sign up, click here.