The Last Leonardo: A Masterpiece, a Mystery and the Dirty World of Art by Ben Le

Description: The Last Leonardo by Ben Lewis In 2017 the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. But is it a real da Vinci? In a thrilling narrative built on formidable research, Ben Lewis tracks the extraordinary journey of a masterpiece lost and found, lied and fought over across the centuries. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description In 2017 the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. But is it a real da Vinci? In a thrilling narrative built on formidable research, Ben Lewis tracks the extraordinary journey of a masterpiece lost and found, lied and fought over across the centuries. In 2017, Leonardo da Vincis small oil painting, the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as saviour of the world is the rarest thing on the planet by the greatest human being who ever lived. Its dazzling price also makes it the worlds most expensive painting.For two centuries art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardos assistants in the first half of the sixteenth century. But where was the original by the master himself?In November 2017, Christies auction house announced they had it. But did they? The Last Leonardo tells a thrilling tale of a spellbinding icon invested with the power to make or break the reputations of scholars, billionaires, kings and sheikhs. Lewis takes us to Leonardos studio in Renaissance Italy; to the court of Charles I and the English Civil War; to Holland, Moscow and Louisiana; to the galleries, salerooms and restorers workshop as the painting slowly, painstakingly, emerged from obscurity. The vicissitudes of the highly secretive art market are charted across five centuries. It is a twisting tale of geniuses and oligarchs, double-crossings and disappearances, where were never quite certain what to believe. Above all, it is an adventure story about the search for lost treasure, and a quest for the truth. Author Biography Ben Lewis is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, television presenter, author and art critic, who has specialized in the art world, art market and history of art for twenty years. He has written about art for Prospect Magazine, the Evening Standard, the Observer and The Times to Liberation and Die Welt. Lewis has contributed to documentary films such as The Great Contemporary Art Bubble, A Bankers Guide to Art and my television series Art Safari. He is the author of Hammer and Tickle. Review The story of the worlds most expensive painting is narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail. Charles Nicholl, Guardian Forensically detailed and gripping investigation into the history, discovery and sales of the painting … Through his fascinating and persuasive account, Lewis remains balanced; the Salvator Mundi might be exactly what its supporters claim it to be, even though it sits in "a pool of theories, surrounded by a tangle of conjecture, suspended from a geometry of clues". Sunday TimesA page-turning tale about the most expensive painting of all time. Its a story populated by characters straight out of a thriller: the soft-spoken but ambitious art dealer, the Russian oligarch in the middle of a messy divorce, the shadowy Swiss storage king who sidelines as a dealer, the Saudi prince eager to polish his reputation with a cleansing spritz of high art. Mr. Lewis interweaves the many threads of an intricate tale into the story of the dramatic restoration, sale and resale of the Salvator Mundi. Wall Street JournalAs Lewis chronicles the quest to attribute the painting to da Vinci, he uncovers an astoundingly dysfunctional world of museums, galleries, auction houses, collectors – a Russian oligarch and a Saudi prince among them … Art, greed, and stealth make for a lively tale of intrigue. Kirkus Lewis portrait of the artist-engineer … as a "dreamer, a doodler, and a dawdler," is refreshingly compelling … Lively and ultimately sinister sketches from over the centuries amount to the Salvator Mundis provenance … A deliciously detailed, satisfying book, that is simultaneously a call for change. Irish TimesPraise for Hammer and Tickle:Ben Lewiss book celebrates the brilliance with which jokes exposed the gulf between the Soviet ideal and its brutal reality Sunday TelegraphThere is a laugh on every page John Suchet, Sunday Express Review Quote The story of the worlds most expensive painting is narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail. Charles Nicholl, Guardian Forensically detailed and gripping investigation into the history, discovery and sales of the painting ... Through his fascinating and persuasive account, Lewis remains balanced; the Salvator Mundi might be exactly what its supporters claim it to be, even though it sits in "a pool of theories, surrounded by a tangle of conjecture, suspended from a geometry of clues". Sunday Times A page-turning tale about the most expensive painting of all time. Its a story populated by characters straight out of a thriller: the soft-spoken but ambitious art dealer, the Russian oligarch in the middle of a messy divorce, the shadowy Swiss storage king who sidelines as a dealer, the Saudi prince eager to polish his reputation with a cleansing spritz of high art. Mr. Lewis interweaves the many threads of an intricate tale into the story of the dramatic restoration, sale and resale of the Salvator Mundi. Wall Street Journal As Lewis chronicles the quest to attribute the painting to da Vinci, he uncovers an astoundingly dysfunctional world of museums, galleries, auction houses, collectors - a Russian oligarch and a Saudi prince among them ... Art, greed, and stealth make for a lively tale of intrigue. Kirkus Lewis portrait of the artist-engineer ... as a "dreamer, a doodler, and a dawdler," is refreshingly compelling ... Lively and ultimately sinister sketches from over the centuries amount to the Salvator Mundis provenance ... A deliciously detailed, satisfying book, that is simultaneously a call for change. Irish Times Praise for Hammer and Tickle: Ben Lewiss book celebrates the brilliance with which jokes exposed the gulf between the Soviet ideal and its brutal reality Sunday Telegraph There is a laugh on every page John Suchet, Sunday Express Feature * EXCEPTIONAL review coverage from HB. The book generated front page news stories in the Times across multiple days. Ben has become THE expert on this painting and its mysteries. * RIVETING story. Written like a thriller to lead a wider story on the dirty world of art. * Huge Leonardo exhibition runs October 2019 - Feb 2020 at the Louvre. This is the one the Salvator would have been hung in. * Consistently newsworthy as worlds most expensive painting and dubious Leonardo. Jan 2020: computer scientists claim to have solved why the glass orb doesnt magnify the image. * Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman is perpetually in the news, and a key figure as the suspected buyer of the painting, which has since purchase again disappeared from public sight. Competition: Living with Leonardo;Fifty Years of Sanity and Insanity in the Art World and Beyond; Da Vinci Code; Big Short; Bad Blood. Martin Kemp; Matthew Landrus; Dan Brown; Michael Lewis; John Carreyrou Details ISBN000831344X Author Ben Lewis Pages 416 Year 2020 ISBN-10 000831344X ISBN-13 9780008313449 Publication Date 2020-04-16 Format Paperback Imprint William Collins Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 759.5 Short Title The Last Leonardo Language English UK Release Date 2020-04-16 Subtitle A Masterpiece, a Mystery and the Dirty World of Art Edited by Thomas Kellaghan Birth 1987 Affiliation Yunnan Univ, China Position Assistant Professor Qualifications SJ Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Alternative 9780008313432 Audience General AU Release Date 2020-08-16 NZ Release Date 2020-08-16 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:160742181;

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