thumb|Child Jesus Salvator Mundi (17th century), Portugal

, Latin for Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb (frequently surmounted by a cross), known as a . The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whole composition has strong eschatological undertones.

The theme is associated with Early Netherlandish painting and the painters of the Northern Renaissance. However, an Italian painting using the same theme has been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.

Background

The theme was made popular by Northern painters such as Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, and Albrecht Dürer. There are also several versions of the theme attributed to Titian, notably the one in the Hermitage Museum.

One painting of the subject, simply titled , was attributed or reattributed to Leonardo da Vinci in 2011. This painting disappeared from 1763 until 1900 when it was acquired from Sir Charles Robinson. It was at the time thought to be a work by Leonardo's follower, Bernardino Luini, and was purchased for the Doughty House in Richmond, London by Sir Francis Cook. By this time Christ's face and hair had been extensively repainted. A photograph taken in 1912 records the work's altered appearance. In 2017, this painting sold at auction for US$ 450,300,000, the highest price ever paid for a painting.

Arts

has been represented as a central motif in artworks since the 15th century such as:

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Carlo Crivelli, salvatore, c. 1470, El Paso Museum of Art.jpg|Carlo Crivelli, ' (c. 1472), El Paso Museum of Art<!--:it:Cristo benedicente (Carlo Crivelli) -->

Polyptyque de la Vanité terrestre et de la Rédemption céleste-Hans Memling mg 9959.jpg|Hans Memling, Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation, detail (c. 1485). Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg (also bearing attributes of a Christ in Majesty, such as the crown)

Salvator Mundi - Joos van Cleve - Musée du Louvre Peintures RF 187.jpg|Joos van Cleve, Christ as Salvator Mundi (c. 1516&ndash;1518), Louvre

Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi, c.1500, oil on walnut, 45.4 × 65.6 cm.jpg|Leonardo da Vinci (attributed), Salvator Mundi (c. 1499–1510), currently owned by Mohammad bin Salman

Salvator_Mundi,_c._1500,_Gerard_David,_Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art.jpg|Gerard David, Salvator Mundi (c. 1500), Philadelphia Museum of Art

Andrea Previtali, Salvator Mundi (1519), oil on poplar, 61.6 x 53 cm, National Gallery.jpg|Andrea Previtali, Salvator Mundi (1519), National Gallery

Palma Salvator Mundi.jpg|Palma Vecchio, (c. 1520), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg (depicted without the blessing hand)

Titian, Salvator Mundi (Christ Blessing), c. 1570, oil on canvas, 96 x 80 cm, Hermitage Museum.jpg|Titian, Salvator Mundi (c. 1570), Hermitage Museum

Unknown Flemish - Salvator Mundi - Google Art Project.jpg|Unknown Flemish artist, Salvator Mundi (third quarter of 16th century)

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass King.JPG|Stained glass panel in the transept of St. John's Anglican Church, Ashfield, New South Wales

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See also

  • Christ Pantocrator
  • "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" (song)

References