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Agnews Gallery presents the
De Ganay Salvator Mundi from the Studio of Leonardo da Vinci
at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF Maastricht 2026)
„Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.”
Leonardo da Vinci
London - Agnews Gallery is proud to present one of the world’s most iconic images, the Christ as Salvator Mundi, from the Workshop of Leonardo Da Vinci at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF Maastricht 2026).
When Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (formerly in the Cook collection) sold at Christie’s New York in 2017 to a Saudi prince for a world record price for any work of art of $450,312,512, an entirely new stratosphere was reached in the art world. The painting, by one of the most famous artists to have ever lived, had struck a chord with the general public as well as some of the world’s wealthiest individuals, and the price that it attained assured its place in the history of art: an authentic icon - in both the modern and literal sense of the word - of Western Art.
Prior to the rediscovery of the Cook Collection Leonardo in 2005, the present „de Ganay" Salvator Mundi had most often been considered the best of the versions known, and by some to be the prototype.
The curatorial team at the Louvre in preparation for their blockbuster 2019 exhibition Leonardo da Vinci, had the first occasion in a century to study the de Ganay Salvator Mundi, which led to this painting being exhibited as Workshop of Leonardo, „a version by a faithful pupil of the master, doubtless painted under his supervision and with his possible intervention” (Vincent Delieuvin et al., op. cit. p. 308). Scientific investigation with infra-red reflectography (IRR) revealed the use of a pricked cartoon with spolvero in the folds of Christ’s red vestment. Spolvero are produced when carbon black dust is used to transfer the lines of a cartoon onto a paint surface. This is a known working method of Leonardo and his studio. When the painting was exhibited again in the 2021/2022 exhibition at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Leonardo y la copia de Mona Lisa del Museo del Prado. Nuevos planteamientos sobre las practicas del taller vinciano, the Prado catalogue stated that the Ganay Salvator Mundi was: „probably executed…under the watchful eye of the Master in his Milanese bottega”(op. cit.). The authors of the catalogue further argued that the skilled workshop artist who painted the de Ganay Salvator Mundi was also responsible for the Prado’s early copy of the Mona Lisa (1507-16). Agnews presentation at The European Fine Art Fair (Tefaf Maastricht 2026) of the de Ganay Salvator Mundi hanging adjacent to the actual size infrared image, will afford the viewer the ability to compare the underdrawing of two closely related, red chalk drapery studies (Royal Collection, Windsor).
The de Ganay painting is in a remarkably good state of conservation and on its original walnut panel, making it possible to truly appreciate the beauty, mystery, empathy, and indeed the technical mastery of Leonardo’s iconic composition. The fact that it was so long considered the ‘finest of the versions’ and belonged to a fabled collection that included other works by Leonardo, can only add to the fascination of this timeless and intriguing composition.
An Illustrious Provenance
The de Ganay Salvator Mundi is first securely recorded in 1866 when it was exhibited in Paris from the collection of Baron de Lareinty of Nantes, who stated that the painting had originated from a convent dispersed during the French Revolution. In 1902 it was acquired by the distinguished Parisian collector Countess Martine de Béhague, whose collection included masterpieces by Albrecht Dürer, Titian’s imposing canvas Portrait of Alfonso d’Avalos (J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu), and important works by, Watteau, Fragonard, Guardi, Ingres, Degas, and Renoir. In fact some twenty years before she acquired the Salvator Mundi, Martine de Béhague’s purchased four exquisite drapery studies in distemper on linen by Leonardo (Fondation Custodia, Louvre and private collection). A devoted admirer of Leonardo, Béhague’s passion for the artist was such that in 1905 she donated the fine Renaissance frame that is still today on Leonardo’s Mona Lisa at the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Martine de Béhague’s collection overflowed with masterpieces of the highest quality in many genres. As her biographer Jumeau-Lafond writes, ‘The Blessing Christ of the Salvator Mundi offered an image that was at once sacred and consoling’.
Agnews Gallery: A Legacy of Excellence
Since its founding in 1817, Agnews Gallery has been a cornerstone of the international art market. The gallery has been involved in placing masterpieces in major collections and museums around the world, handling works by, amongst others, Caravaggio, Van Dyck, El Greco, Frans Hals, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Titian, Turner and Velázquez, including the latter’s Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery, London. Agnews continues its 200 year tradition of connecting exceptional artworks with the world’s most discerning collectors.
To learn more, please visit www.agnewsgallery.com - home to an extensive online catalogue and scholarly resource that features detailed entries on each painting, biographies of artists, and essays by leading scholars.
More information: https://www.agnewsgallery.com/
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Agnews Gallery presents
the de Ganay Salvator Mundi from the Studio of Leonardo da Vinci
von Silke Lohmann
Museen, Galerien
11.03.26
