“Really, "The Lost Leonardo" is a detective story. Like any good detective story, it's also a morality tale.” – Mark Feeney, Boston Globe
“Among other things, this picture freshly demonstrates that a conventionally structured documentary can pack the fascination and wallop of an expertly executed fictional thriller.” – Glenn Kenny, New York Times
“There's nothing quite like a good story, well-told.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International
THE LOST LEONARDO is the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million. From the moment the painting is bought for $1175 at a shady New Orleans auction house, and the restorer discovers masterful Renaissance brushstrokes under the heavy varnish of its cheap restoration, the Salvator Mundi’s fate is determined by an insatiable quest for fame, money and power. As its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity: is this painting really by Leonardo da Vinci? Unravelling the hidden agendas of the richest men and most powerful art institutions in the world, THE LOST LEONARDO reveals how vested interests in the Salvator Mundi are of such tremendous power that truth becomes secondary.
Awards:
Nominated – Best Documentary Feature, Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, 2021
Nominated – IDA Award for Best Cinematography and Music Score, International Documentary Association, 2022
Nominated – Bronze Horse for Best Documentary, Stockholm Film Festival, 2021