$450 million Leonardo painting heading to new Louvre museum

A Leonardo da Vinci painting of Christ that sold in New York for a record $450 million (380 million euros) is heading to a museum in the United Arab Emirates. (Public Domain)

NEW YORK—A Leonardo da Vinci painting of Christ that sold in New York for a record $450 million (380 million euros) is heading to a museum in the United Arab Emirates.

The newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi made the announcement Wednesday.

The 500-year-old painting is called “Salvator Mundi,” Latin for “Savior of the World.” It’s one of fewer than 20 paintings by the Renaissance master known to exist and the only one in private hands. Christie’s auction house sold it to an anonymous buyer last month.

The New York Times reports according to documents it reviewed the mystery buyer was a little-known Saudi prince. Christie’s says it doesn’t comment on the identities of buyers or sellers without their permission.

The highest known sale price for any artwork had been $300 million (253 million euros), for Willem de Kooning’s painting “Interchange.”