‘Salvatore Mundi’s’ mysterious buyer is Arab Prince

CAIRO – 7 December 2017: Recently, “Salvatore Mundi’s” painting depicting Jesus Christ by Leonardo Da Vinci went viral on social media following its recent auction where it was sold for over $400 million. As a result many art admirers grew curious about the buyer’s identity amid experts’ speculations that he or she might be an Arab.

Stepfeed’s Managing Editor Jason Lemon revealed that “Salvatore Mundi’s” mysterious buyer is Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud.

Lemon explained;

“The New York Times has reported

this week that Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, a somewhat unknown Saudi royal from an obscure branch of the royal family and no known interest in art collecting, made the record-breaking purchase.”

Le Salvator Mundi de Vinci viendra au #LouvreAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/zW1z4pRoG9

— Louvre Abu Dhabi (@LouvreAbuDhabi) December 6, 2017

Also, The New York Times posted documents that emphasized the cultural and artistic role of Prince Bader in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“Prince Mohammed also put Prince Bader in charge of governing a commission overseeing the development of Al Ola, which contains an important archaeological site. Enhancing the touristic value of the site has been listed as an important priority of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 plan,” Lemon explained.

Another mysterious fact regarding the painting was revealed when the official Twitter account of The Louver Abu Dhabi posted on Monday that the painting will be among the exhibited works in the museum.

Unbelievable! An associate of #Saudi Crown Prince #MBS purchased Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Salvator Mundi,” for a record $450.3 millionhttps://t.co/feJJilbJZ5

— Azzam Tamimi عزام (@AzzamTamimi) December 7, 2017

Last month, Egypt Today published an article where art experts speculated over the identity of “Salvatore Mundi’s” buyer. Opinions mostly conceded that the buyer is most likely an Arab hailing from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, or Qatar.

“Salvatore Mundi” is a portrait of Jesus Christ that dates back to year 1500. It depicts Christ in a vivid blue and crimson robe while holding a crystal orb. Da Vinci painted “Salvatore Mundi” while working on his prestigious “Mona Lisa” portrait.


Experts believe that the painting was originally dedicated to the British royal family, and it was kept in their possession until 1763. In 1900, the work was lost and was recently redeemed after being purchased by an art collector.


There were also doubts concerning the identity of the painter himself, but in 2011 it was proven that the painting is an authentic Da Vinci.


Art expert and critic Martin Kemp described the painting as “very soft”, featuring a Da Vinci trait.