NEW YORK: What is the only Da Vinci painting on the open market worth? A Russian billionaire believes he was swindled when he bought it for $127.5 million. This week he’ll find out if he was right.
“Salvator Mundi,” a painting of Jesus Christ by the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci circa 1500, is the star lot in New York’s November art auctions that will see Christie’s and Sotheby’s chase combined art sales of more than $1 billion.
It goes under the hammer at Christie’s on Wednesday, something of an incongruous lot in the post-war and contemporary evening sale, which attracts the biggest spenders in the high-octane world of international billionaire art collectors.
The auction house, which declines to comment on the controversy and identifies the seller only as a European collector, has valued it at $100 million.
“Look at the painting, it is an extraordinary work of art,” said Francois de Poortere, head of the old master’s department at Christie’s. “That’s what we should focus on.”
But the price will be closely watched — not just as one of fewer than 20 paintings by Da Vinci’s hand accepted to exist, but by its owner Dmitry Rybolovlev, the boss of soccer club AS Monaco who is suing Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier in the city-state.
Rybolovlev accuses Bouvier of conning him out of hundreds of million dollars in parting with an eye-watering $2.1 billion on 37 masterpieces. One of those works was “Salvator Mundi” which has been exhibited at The National Gallery in London.
Bouvier bought the Da Vinci at Sotheby’s for $80 million in 2013. He resold it to the Russian tycoon for $127.5 million.
The painting’s rarity is difficult to overstate. For years it was presumed to have been destroyed. In 1958, it fetched £45 and disappeared again for decades, emerging only in 2005 when it was purchased from a US estate.
It was long believed to have been a copy, before eventually being certified as authentic. All other known paintings by Da Vinci are held in museum or institutional collections.
“For auction specialists, this is pretty much the Holy Grail,” Loic Gouzer, co-chairman of Christie’s Americas post-war and contemporary art department, has said. “It doesn’t really get better than that.”
Christie’s has sought to emphasize Da Vinci’s inestimable contribution to art history by hanging “Salvator Mundi” next to Andy Warhol’s “Sixty Last Suppers” — which depicts Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” 60 times over, also on sale with a $50 million estimate.
Pablo Picasso holds the world record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction. His “The Women of Algiers (Version O)” fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s in New York in 2015.
Other highlights being offered by the auction house are “Contraste de formes,” a 1913 Fernand Leger valued at $65 million and “Laboureur dans un champ” by Van Gogh, painted from the window of a French asylum in 1889 valued at $50 million.
Sotheby’s, whose May sales languished behind Christie’s, says it has more than 60 works making their auction debuts this week.
Chief among them is Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of George Dyer,” valued at $35-45 million, and which it says is appearing in public for the first time in 50 years.
Painted in 1966 during his passionate relationship with Dyer, two other such triptychs are in museums and two others have been offered at auction in recent years.
Sotheby’s other star lot is a 1972 Warhol “Mao,” exhibited in Berlin, Turin and Paris, and now back in public view for the first time since 1974. It has been given an estimate of $30-40 million.
Each of the other 10 “Mao” paintings of the same size are in prestigious public and private collections, including the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Sotheby’s calls it one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
But for the first time, the house has added a collector car to an art auction, offering Michael Schumacher’s Grand Prix-Winning Ferrari for upwards of $4million on Thursday. But is it a work of art?
“No, it’s not,” says Gregoire Billault, senior Sotheby’s vice president. “But it’s... the very best racing car ever sold at an auction.”
Controversial Da Vinci is New York auction season star
Controversial Da Vinci is New York auction season star
From historic desert landscapes to sound stages: AlUla’s bid to become the region’s film capital
DUBAI: AlUla is positioning itself as the center of cinema for the MENA region, turning its dramatic desert landscapes, heritage sites and newly built studio infrastructure into jobs, tourism and long‑term economic opportunity.
In a wide‑ranging interview, Zaid Shaker, executive director of Film AlUla, and Philip J. Jones, chief tourism officer for the Royal Commission for AlUla, laid out an ambitious plan to train local talent, attract a diverse slate of productions and use film as a catalyst for year‑round tourism.
“We are building something that is both cultural and economic,” said Shaker. “Film AlUla is not just about hosting productions. It’s about creating an entire ecosystem where local people can come into sustained careers. We invested heavily in facilities and training because we want AlUla to be a place where filmmakers can find everything they need — technical skill, production infrastructure and a landscape that offers limitless variety. When a director sees a location and says, ‘I can shoot five different looks in 20 minutes,’ that changes the calculus for choosing a destination.”
At the core of the strategy are state‑of‑the‑art studios operated in partnership with the MBS Group, which comprises Manhattan Beach Studios — home to James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels. “We have created the infrastructure to compete regionally and internationally,” said Jones. “Combine those studios with AlUla’s natural settings and you get a proposition that’s extremely attractive to producers; controlled environment and unmatched exterior vistas within a short drive. That versatility is a real selling point. We’re not a one‑note destination.”
The slate’s flagship project, the romantic comedy “Chasing Red,” was chosen deliberately to showcase that range. “After a number of war films and heavy dramas shot here, we wanted a rom‑com to demonstrate the breadth of what AlUla offers,” said Shaker. “‘Chasing Red’ uses both our studio resources and multiple on‑location settings. It’s a story that could have been shot anywhere — but by choosing AlUla we’re showing how a comical, intimate genre can also be elevated by our horizons, our textures, our light.
“This film is also our first under a broader slate contract — so it’s a proof point. If ‘Chasing Red’ succeeds, it opens the door for very different kinds of storytelling to come here.”
Training and workforce development are central pillars of the program. Film AlUla has engaged more than 180 young Saudis in training since the start of the year, with 50 already slated to join ongoing productions. “We’re building from the bottom up,” said Shaker. “We start with production assistant training because that’s often how careers begin. From there we provide camera, lighting, rigging and data-wrangling instruction, and we’ve even launched soft‑skill offerings like film appreciation— courses that teach critique, composition and the difference between art cinema and commercial cinema. That combination of technical and intellectual training changes behavior and opens up real career pathways.”
Jones emphasized the practical benefits of a trained local workforce. “One of the smartest strategies for attracting productions is cost efficiency,” he said. “If a production can hire local, trained production assistants and extras instead of flying in scores of entry‑level staff, that’s a major saving. It’s a competitive advantage. We’ve already seen results: AlUla hosted 85 productions this year, well above our initial target. That momentum is what we now aim to convert into long‑term growth.”
Gender inclusion has been a standout outcome. “Female participation in our training programs is north of 55 percent,” said Shaker. “That’s huge. It’s not only socially transformative, giving young Saudi women opportunities in an industry that’s historically male-dominated, but it’s also shaping the industry culture here. Women are showing up, learning, and stepping into roles on set.”
Looking to 2026, their targets are aggressive; convert the production pipeline into five to six feature films and exceed 100 total productions across film, commercials and other projects. “We want private-sector partners to invest in more sound stages so multiple productions can run concurrently,” said Jones. “That’s how you become a regional hub.”
The tourism case is both immediate and aspirational. “In the short term, productions bring crews who fill hotels, eat in restaurants and hire local tradespeople,” said Shaker. “In the long term, films act as postcards — cinematic invitations that make people want to experience a place in person.”
Jones echoed that vision: “A successful film industry here doesn’t just create jobs; it broadcasts AlUla’s beauty and builds global awareness. That multiplies the tourism impact.”
As “Chasing Red” moves into production, Shaker and Jones believe AlUla can move from an emerging production destination to the region’s filmmaking epicenter. “We’re planting seeds for a cultural sector that will bear economic fruit for decades,” said Shaker. “If we get the talent, the infrastructure and the stories right, the world will come to AlUla to film. And to visit.”
