The Napoli Salvator Mundi, attributed to a Leonardo follower, was stolen from the Museum of San Domenico Maggiore
© SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE, NAPLES
A 16th century copy of Leonardo da Vinci Salvator Mundi that was stolen from a basilica museum in Naples has been recovered by the Italian police.
Designed to be executed by a student of the Renaissance master, the painting was found during a police search in an apartment about 7 km from the Museum of San Domenico Maggiore. The owner of the property, reported to be 36 years old by Agenzia Italia, was detained in police custody on suspicion of receiving stolen goods.
The work is inspired by Leonardo’s famous work Salvator Mundi (around 1500), which since its record sale of $ 450 million in 2017 has been the subject of intense media speculation around its mysterious whereabouts, disputed allocation and loaded loan arrangements.
The Naples version, dated around 1508-13, is one of only three (including Leonardo’s painting) that are closely reproduced in a 1650 engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar. There are about 20 existing copies of the Salvator Mundi attributed to Leonardo’s school.
While the museum claims that the “most convincing” theory of its painter’s identity points to Leonardo Girolamo Alibrandi’s student, Leonardo’s restoration specialist Dianne Modestini believes that the work could belong to another student – his “little devil” lover Salaì.
None of the theories disregard Leonardo’s own contribution to the work.
It was brought from Rome to Naples by Giovanni Antonio Muscettola, an envoy and adviser to the Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, and was delivered to the museum’s Liturgical Objects Room located inside a convent with an adjacent basilica, according to the museum’s website.
The work recently returned to the Italian capital, having been exhibited at Villa Farnesina for the 2019 exhibition Leonardo in Rome: Influences and Legacy, where it was restored during a technical study. Although some Italian newspapers reported that the police reported that the work had been stolen two years ago, the museum said the work was in its possession in January 2020, when the Rome exhibition was closed.
The San Domenico Maggiore Museum did not respond to comments at the time of publication of this article.