Naples Salvator Mundi Studied for BBC Documentary

A version of Salvator Mundi in Naples, considered the closest to Leonardo da Vinci's original, is undergoing diagnostic analysis and restoration. The work, owned by the Fondo Edifici di Culto of the Italian Ministry of the Interior and housed in the church of San Domenico Maggiore, is being studied by Dianne Modestini of NYU's Conservation Institute. A campaign of tests funded by an NYU trust in May 2019 revealed that the panel is contemporary to Leonardo's period and that the underdrawing was executed using the spolvero technique from a cartoon, suggesting it was made by a member of Leonardo's circle such as Francesco Melzi, Boltraffio, or Marco d'Oggiono. The BBC is filming a documentary on Leonardo's working methods, featuring this painting. The work is currently being restored for the upcoming exhibition "Leonardo a Roma" at the Farnesina in October 2019, organized by the Accademia dei Lincei. The documentary and a volume of research findings are expected in 2020. The original Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo, sold at Christie's in November 2017 for $450.3 million to the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, destined for the Louvre Abu Dhabi.