NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo's Salvator Mundi: expert uncovers ‘exciting’ new evidence
Did Louvre Abu Dhabi’s $450m painting belong to an English nobleman who followed Charles I to the scaffold in 1649?
BlogDiary
Is it by the master? Audience delivers verdict on Salvator Mundi at 'The Lost Leonardo' UK premiere
NewsVideo, film & new media
The Lost Leonardo—a thriller-like film on the world’s most expensive painting—opens in the UK on 10 September
The documentary features experts including editor-in-chief of The Art Newspaper, Alison Cole, and editor-at-large Georgina Adam
NewsArt market
Head of a bear sets new record for a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, selling on a single bid for £8.8m at Christie's
The tiny "Post It note" drawing was sold by Thomas Kaplan, owner of the Leiden collection of Rembrandts, who bought it in 2008 based on a fax
NewsArt market
Legal battle over €15m Leonardo discovery: owner, Tajan auction house and French government fight it out
An export ban was placed on the drawing in 2017 but the French culture ministry has not purchased the drawing as planned
ReviewFilms
The Lost Leonardo—a solid sceptical documentary—follows the saga of the Salvator Mundi
The documentary film about the world’s most scrutinised painting, by the Danish director Andreas Koefoed, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday
NewsArt market
Leonardo da Vinci's bear pawtrait could make record for drawing by the artist
The work is expected to fetch up to £12m in a live sale at Christie's London this July
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Not a Leonardo! Clue to wax bust’s attribution lies inside a sperm whale
New scientific report confirms that wax bust of the goddess Flora—bought by the eminent museum director Wilhelm Bode—dates to after the Renaissance
NewsSalvator Mundi
What the Louvre’s scientific examinations of the Salvator Mundi really revealed—according to the museum’s own book
A secret booklet appears to contradict claims made in a new documentary about the painting's attribution to Leonardo
NewsSalvator Mundi
The real reason why the Salvator Mundi didn't make it into the Louvre's Leonardo show
A feature-length film, screening next week in France, sheds new light on the political machinations surrounding the world's most controversial painting
BlogDiary
Poldark star Aidan Turner on how to play Leonardo (hint: learn to paint with your left hand)
NewsNFTs
Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi—the world's most expensive work of art—to be turned into an NFT
Author Ben Lewis is minting the masterpiece to highlight the art world’s ‘age-old inequities and injustices’
NewsVisitor Figures 2020
Who were the most Googled artists in 2020?
Search data from 84 countries last year shows that Leonardo, Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo were among the world's most popular artists
NewsSalvator Mundi
Disarming new findings on Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi
The Louvre’s examination of the picture and independent analysis suggest blessing hand and arm were not part of the artist’s original concept
BlogBook Club
What was the best art book you read in 2020? The Art Newspaper team reveals its favourite publications
From the catalogue for a controversial Guston show to a four-volume tome on Leonardo Da Vinci—and some lighter reads too
AnalysisArt market
Six of the best catalogues raisonnés
From Leonardo to Bacon, take your pick from a selection of essential texts on leading artists
NewsArt market
Rediscovered painting by Leonardo da Vinci's 'little devil' lover and collaborator sells for record €1.7m in France
Penitent Magdalene by Salaì, who entered Leonardo's workshop at the age of ten, was estimated at €100,000 to €150,000 and is one of only a handful of known works by the artist
AnalysisVisitor Figures 2019
Here are the most visited Old Master exhibitions of 2019
The hype surrounding major anniversary celebrations saw big turnouts for Bruegel, Leonardo and Rembrandt
NewsVisitor Figures
Louvre's Leonardo da Vinci show smashes attendance record with more than one million visitors
Previous highest figure was 540,000 people for the Eugène Delacroix show in 2018
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Louvre to open non-stop over closing weekend of Leonardo blockbuster show
Free entry—plus coffee and madeleines—promised for nocturnal visitors in a move that will allow an extra 30,000 people to see the exhibition
CommentLeonardo da Vinci
Doubly lost: why the Salvator Mundi's failure to show up at the Louvre is to be greatly regretted
Insurance measures allowed the Leonardo painting to be included in the Louvre’s blockbuster if the loan was confirmed by 1 January. Now that date has passed, Martin Kemp laments its disappearance
NewsSalvator Mundi
Was Leonardo's Salvator Mundi for sale when it went on show at the National Gallery?
Public collections usually avoid showing works that are on the market, but expert claims the $450m picture was made available to museums and collectors before the 2011 exhibition
BlogDiary of an art historian
Disneyfication at the National Gallery? Plus, the problem with deaccessioning in the UK
The stigma around state museums selling works means that other institutions dare not buy them; and a frank review of the National Gallery's Leonardo exhibition
ReviewBooks
This was the most prolific year for Leonardo scholarship in history—here is a detailed guide to the best books
At least 250 volumes in European languages have been published in 2019, the year that saw the world commemorate 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci's death
NewsMuseums
Strikes hit France: here are the museums that are affected
Several institutions have closed, others have cut back their opening times as protests against Macron's retirement reforms sweep the country
CommentArt market
Fakes! Why are we seeing so many counterfeits?
Artistic fraudsters are still pushing their luck—creating works ranging from the barely believable to the downright hilarious
ReviewExhibitions
The Big Review: Leonardo at the Louvre
This once in a lifetime retrospective has a freshness and coherence which appeals to public and scholar alike
NewsBooks
Missing Leonardo link: writer discovers that Da Vinci's anatomy drawings were owned by Charles II
New book hopes research of papers belonging to the king's physician will lead to further "eureka" moments
AnalysisSalvator Mundi
Is the $450m Salvator Mundi really on a Saudi yacht?
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s luxury vessel has unexpectedly circumnavigated Europe and docked in the Netherlands
BlogIn the frame
Taner Ceylan creates his own version of Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi for Castello di Rivoli show
Podcast
Leonardo at the Louvre: the spectacular show and the Salvator Mundi no-show
We speak to co-curator Vincent Delieuvin about the 13 years of research that went into the show and discuss the latest twist in the Salvator Mundi saga with author Ben Lewis. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793
NewsSalvator Mundi
Revealed: the plans to show Salvator Mundi at the Louvre
Exclusive photograph from the Paris museum shows the intended installation set up
NewsSalvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi nearly made it to the Louvre exhibition, and might still be included
We can also reveal that the $450m painting is described in the latest insurance documents as “attributed to” Leonardo rather than as a definitive autograph work
ReviewLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo review: Salvator Mundi hovers in the wings, but Louvre show is still magnificent without it
With a mass of the artist’s greatest works on its walls, the exhibition is a huge hit despite the non-appearance—so far—of the controversial painting
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Green light for Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to go to Louvre
An Italian appellate court has overturned the ban on the loan of the celebrated drawing
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
New book on Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi aims to be a definitive study—but it's not the last word on the controversial painting
Ahead of the blockbuster at the Musée du Louvre, we get an exclusive first read of the publication written by Martin Kemp, Robert Simon and Margaret Dalivalle
NewsExhibitions
Louvre Leonardo show: forget Salvator Mundi, focus on Vasari
Forthcoming exhibition on the Renaissance master reveals ground-breaking new research on Italian literary sources
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italian court blocks loan of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to Louvre
The ruling also suspends the wider agreement for the exchange of works of art between France and Italy
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Salvator Mundi set to be a no-show in Louvre show
Paris museum's attempts to secure $450m Leonardo look doomed to failure, and the loser will be art history
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
If Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man goes on show at the Louvre, we won’t see it again for a decade
Italian conservationists say they may attempt to block the loan of the famous drawing
NewsExhibitions
Despite Brexit, Britain is biggest lender to Louvre’s Leonardo blockbuster show
Speculation remains over whether Salvator Mundi will appear
NewsCultural exchange
Louvre secures key Italian loans for Leonardo retrospective
The Vitruvian Man—normally only shown for a few weeks every six years—will travel from Venice’s Gallerie dell'Accademia to Paris
PreviewLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo at the Louvre: an exclusive first look at this year's biggest blockbuster
We reveal the research and science behind the monograph exhibition exploring the Renaissance painter's artistic evolution
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
'Immersive experience' at London's National Gallery to reveal secrets of Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks
X-rays showing artist's original composition reveal that angel and Infant Christ were positioned higher up
BlogDiary of an art historian
Did the buyer of the Salvator Mundi get played—or did we?
What better way to boost its star power than by making it "disappear" for a few months?
NewsLaw
Family claims quarter share of disputed Isleworth Mona Lisa
The painting, long the subject of an attribution dispute, is now at the centre of a legal conflict over ownership
NewsMona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is on the move this summer at the Musée du Louvre
The Leonardo painting, which is seen by thousands of visitors each day, is temporarily leaving its home during renovations to the gallery
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa like you've never seen her: Louvre to use VR for first time in Leonardo fifth centenary show
Museum officials say they still hope to include Salvator Mundi in major autumn show
News
French exhibition aims to reveal naked truth about 'nude Mona Lisa'
New research suggests work could be a prototype of an idealised “Venus” portrait designed by Leonardo himself
ReviewThree to see
Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend
From the largest Leonardo da Vinci show in half a century, at the Queen's Gallery, to the first retrospective of Luchita Hurtado at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Louvre struggles to gain loans for Leonardo show
High-level diplomacy is being used to secure the artist’s most important works for blockbuster anniversary show in Paris
NewsNational Gallery
'Exceptional loan' of Francesco Melzi painting from Russia comes to London's National Gallery
Unusual month-long display of recently restored work by Leonardo’s favourite and heir will be lent by the State Hermitage Museum
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italy secures loan of Leonardo da Vinci's Benois Madonna from Russia's Hermitage museum
There has been intense competition to borrow works by the artist during the 500th anniversary of his death this year
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Portrait sketch of Leonardo da Vinci discovered in Britain’s Royal Collection
The drawing, believed to be one of only two contemporary images of the artist, will go on show for the first time at the Queen’s Gallery in London
NewsExhibitions
Crowd control: Louvre to enforce timed tickets in run-up to Leonardo da Vinci blockbuster
Reservations will mainly be online as French museum anticipates record visitor figures
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
London's National Gallery defends inclusion of Salvator Mundi in Leonardo show after criticism in new book
The curator’s attribution to the Renaissance master helped Christie’s achieve a world record price for the painting
CommentConnoisseurship
Another new Leonardo is a reason to be cheerful
The Virgin and Laughing Child was recently re-attributed as the artist's “only surviving sculpture”
BlogIn the frame
Go to bed with a smile—spend the night with Mona Lisa
NewsDiary of an art historian
Perhaps even a Leonardo copy shows you’re rich and cultured
A version of the Mona Lisa by a follower of Leonardo da Vinci recently sold at Sotheby's for $1.69m
NewsSalvator Mundi
'We want Salvator Mundi' for Leonardo blockbuster, Louvre says
Claims that it had "cancelled plans" to show the work are "fake information", the museum says
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Is Leonardo da Vinci's only sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum?
Italian scholar says terracotta statuette, currently attributed to Antonio Rossellino, is actually by the 15th-century master
BlogDiary of an art historian
Speculation over Leonardo says more about us than the art
Facts seem no longer to matter with the famous picture
PreviewLeonardo da Vinci
Twelve Leonardo shows to open simultaneously in the UK to mark 500th anniversary of artist’s death
Drawings from the Royal Collection go on show around the country this week before larger surveys in London and Edinburgh later in the year
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci's thumbprint discovered on drawing in Royal Collection
The mark is “the most convincing candidate for an authentic Leonardo fingerprint” among the Queen’s 550 works by the great artist
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italy blocks Leonardo loans for Louvre anniversary show
Populist government says sending paintings to French museum would put Italy 'on the margins of a great cultural event'
PreviewThe Year Ahead 2019
Which exhibitions will be the blockbusters of 2019?
Major Leonardo and Rembrandt anniversaries mean a wealth of shows focusing on the Old Masters, but Tintoretto, the Bauhaus or Bill Viola could be dark horses
NewsSalvator Mundi
Would the 'royal' Salvator Mundi please stand up?
Pushkin Museum’s Giampietrino painting may be the one listed in inventory of Charles I’s collection, rather than the Abu Dhabi work
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Uffizi launches Leonardo da Vinci 500th celebrations across Italy
New exhibition in Florence decodes the “startlingly radical” scientific ideas of the Codex Leicester
NewsAppointments & departures
The Met's Luke Syson to head Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
Curator returns to the UK where he organised the blockbuster 2011 Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery in London
NewsArt market
Russian billionaire Rybolovlev sues Sotheby’s for $380m in fraud damages
The mega-collector’s latest lawsuit, filed in New York, escalates his three-year legal feud with Swiss dealer Yves Bouvier
NewsArt market
Salvator Mundi’s patchwork provenance now includes a 50-year stop in Louisiana
The work was bought by a Baton Rouge family for about $120 while travelling in London in 1958, the Wall Street Journal reports
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
‘Genuine’ Leonardo ‘sold’ for €72m on classified ads site Avito
The seller says that the painting, titled A Young Girl in Furs, was authenticated by the Stockholm art valuation firm Atelje Catellani
News
Salvator Mundi will not go on show at Louvre Abu Dhabi this month, for reasons unknown
$450.3m Leonardo da Vinci painting was due to be unveiled at museum in two weeks but its display has now been delayed
FeatureSalvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi: Why Bernardino Luini should be back in the frame
The Art Newspaper invites Matthew Landrus to expand on his theory on attribution to Leonardo and studio
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Victoria and Albert Museum brings Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks to life online
New technology allows novices and scholars to zoom in on the artist’s sketches and notes
News
Leonardo da Vinci’s $450m Salvator Mundi to go on show at Louvre Abu Dhabi on 18 September
The painting will be loaned to the Louvre in Paris next year for an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of artist's death
NewsAttribution
National Gallery in London accused of altering attribution of Hermitage's 'Leonardo' for 2011 blockbuster show
Leading scholar says gallery's own curators believed Madonna Litta to be by Boltraffio, a pupil of the master
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Museums race to secure loans for 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death
Venues across Europe ramp up requests as multiple shows are planned for 2019
NewsExhibitions
Royal Academy of Arts tried to borrow $450m Salvator Mundi for its Charles I exhibition
New London show has received glowing reviews but there is one conspicuous absentee
NewsArt market
From Van Gogh to Richter—what happens when bidders fail to pay up at auction?
Flaky winning bids are knocking the gloss off record-breaking sales
BlogDiary of an art historian
Stop reading, start looking: today’s art history students are not getting a grounding in connoisseurship skills
When I put an image of a well-known Titian on the screen, only one of 40 could identify the artist
NewsArt market
Author Don Thompson takes issue with 'the last Leonardo' tagline and casts 2018 market predictions
$450m Salvator Mundi sale too late to be included in new book, The Orange Balloon Dog, but would have filled several chapters, economist says
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
A new Leonardo? Scholarly show claims to reveal master’s hand
Worcester Art Museum argues for reattribution of altarpiece panels by Verrocchio’s workshop
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci is big business for Berlin copyists whose Salvator Mundi is in the pipeline
Russian brothers behind the replicas are planning a show of their Leonardo reproductions next year
NewsArt market
Beyond Leonardo: the artists who led the auctions in 2017
We survey the top five results in key markets, from Old Masters to Post-war and contemporary
BlogDiary of an art historian
How to identify a wreck
Better public understanding of condition requires greater access to digital images
NewsSalvator Mundi
We acquired Leonardo's Salvator Mundi, Abu Dhabi says
Announcement appears to contradict earlier reports linking purchase to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince
NewsSaudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince launches institute to promote art in the Middle East
Recently identified buyer of Leonardo's Salvator Mundi is planning a pavilion at the Venice Biennale, art teaching in schools, international exhibitions, archaeology and virtual reality
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince revealed as buyer of $450m Leonardo and loan confirmed to Louvre Abu Dhabi
Gesture consolidates close political alliance between Saudi Arabia and the UAE
NewsArt Basel in Miami Beach
Saudi prince revealed as mystery buyer of the Salvator Mundi
News sent Twitter into a tizzy
NewsArt market
What does a $450m Leonardo mean for the Old Master market?
Slick marketing produced stupendous sale price for Salvator Mundi, but it sparked revulsion as well as elation
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Bill Gates to send his Leonardo manuscript to the Uffizi
Codex Leicester will go on show in Florence for the first time in almost four decades
CommentLeonardo da Vinci
The Salvator Mundi may have changed the market for ever—but we have been through this before
Martin Gammon on the historical precedents of the $450m sale
CommentSalvator Mundi
Is Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci? Amid the current flurry of ill-informed controversies, let us turn to the science
Can the leaked Louvre book give us the final word on the much-maligned painting that we all need?
Martin Kemp