Julianne Moore, an Academy Award-winning performer, will appear in and executive produce a new television adaptation of the critically acclaimed 2021 documentary The Lost Leonardo. This series, created by Studiocanal, The Picture Company, Entertainment 360, and Zaftig Films, follows the fascinating journey of the Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that became the most expensive artwork ever sold, fetching $450 million at Christie’s New York in 2017.
Moore will play Dianne Modestini, the art restorer who saw the painting’s promise and worked tirelessly to restore it. The artwork, a crumbling Renaissance image of Christ, was originally acquired for $1,000 at an estate auction in Louisiana. Modestini, the widow of a dying famed art restorer, took up the job when it appeared to be a total loss. Her efforts and expertise revealed underlayers of paint and precise elements, such as the placement of the thumb, that were consistent with Da Vinci’s earlier works, lending the picture credibility as a possible masterpiece.
The Salvator Mundi’s path from ignored painting to the most expensive artwork ever auctioned is fraught with unexplained twists, turns, and controversy from the fine art world’s underbelly. The initial purchasers who hired Modestini had an important part in this transition. Despite naysayers claimed that the majority of the visible paint in the end result was Modestini’s labor rather than Da Vinci’s, the painting’s rediscovery and subsequent sale made headlines.
The painting’s buyer was eventually confirmed to be Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who kept the purchase a secret. Despite Christie’s declaration that the artwork will be shown at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, it has not been seen since its sale. Speculation concerning its inclusion in the Musée du Louvre’s 2019 Leonardo retrospective likewise failed, leaving its present whereabouts unknown.
The characters in this narrative are unique and interesting, including a middleman who purchased the painting for a Russian tycoon. After realizing the intermediary’s massive markup, the oligarch became outraged and set out to destroy the intermediary’s reputation. This protracted battle reflects larger conflicts and power dynamics in the art industry.
This television adaptation of The Lost Leonardo promises to explore whether the Salvator Mundi is the greatest art discovery of our time or one of the most elaborate scams in art history. With Moore’s compelling portrayal of Modestini, viewers will be drawn into the high-stakes world of art, money, and power, witnessing the dramatic twists and turns that define the Salvator Mundi’s legacy.
