In brief
- Salvator Mundi cost $450,312,500, including fees: this was its hammer price at Christie’s in New York on 15 November 2017, or approximately €396 million at the late September 2026 exchange rate.
- It is the most expensive painting ever sold, whether at auction or in a documented private sale.
- Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and painted around 1500, it is an oil on walnut panel measuring 65.7 x 45.7 cm.
- In 1958, it was sold for £45 at Sotheby’s in London as a work by Boltraffio.
- Announced for Louvre Abu Dhabi, it has not been displayed to the public since the sale.
A blessing Christ, a crystal orb, a walnut panel measuring under 70 centimetres: in 2017, Salvator Mundi became the most expensive work of art in history. Nine years later, no painting has come close to it. Here is its exact price, its journey and what remains disputed.
How much did Salvator Mundi cost?
On 15 November 2017, Christie’s presented the painting as Lot 9B in its evening sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art in New York, an unusual setting for an Old Master. After a long battle between two telephone bidders, the hammer fell at $400 million. With fees, the price reached $450,312,500, the amount listed by Christie’s on the lot page.
This is a final purchase price including buyer’s premium. It shattered the previous auction record, the $179.4 million paid for Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger at Christie’s in May 2015. The buyer was not named by the auction house; in December 2017, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi announced that the work would join Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Salvator Mundi in figures
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Leonardo da Vinci (attribution) |
| Date | Circa 1500 |
| Medium | Oil on walnut panel |
| Dimensions | 65.7 x 45.7 cm |
| Sale | Christie’s New York, lot 9B, 15 November 2017 |
| Hammer price | $400,000,000 |
| Price including fees | $450,312,500 (approx. €396m) |
| Seller | Dmitry Rybolovlev (according to several records) |
| Announced destination | Louvre Abu Dhabi |
| Price source | Lot page, Christie’s |
From £45 to $450 million
The provenance published by Christie’s traces back, cautiously, to the French court: the painting may have been commissioned by Louis XII and Anne of Brittany after the conquest of Milan, before passing to England with Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I. It appears in 1651 in the sale of the royal collections, returns to Charles II during the Restoration, and then disappears from inventories. Sold in 1763 as a Head of Christ by Leonardo, it reappears in the 19th century as a work by Bernardino Luini.
In 1958, at Sotheby’s in London, it was sold for £45, catalogued as a Boltraffio, a pupil of Leonardo. Rediscovered in an American collection and restored, it was exhibited as a Leonardo at the National Gallery in London from November 2011 to February 2012. A private sale brokered by Sotheby’s preceded the Christie’s auction: according to several records, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev paid $127.5 million for it in 2013.
Other paintings in the ranking
In our ranking of the most expensive paintings in the world, Salvator Mundi remains far ahead of all its rivals. Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer was sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s New York on 18 November 2025, becoming, according to the auction house, the second most expensive work ever sold at auction. Willem de Kooning’s Interchange was reportedly sold for around $300 million in a private sale in 2015, an amount that has never been officially confirmed by the parties.
The price today
The painting has not been resold since 2017 and has no public market value. Its display at Louvre Abu Dhabi, announced for September 2018, was postponed without a new date, and the work has not been exhibited since. The attribution to Leonardo alone remains debated by some art historians, who see the involvement of his workshop. A future sale, should one take place, would show how much this doubt weighs today.
Prices verified and updated on 13 October 2026. Sources: Christie’s (lot 9B page, sale 14995, New York, 15 November 2017, provenance and exhibition history), Sotheby’s (Leonard A. Lauder sale results, 18 November 2025), Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi.
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