- The “Savior of the World” painting will have an NFT version.
- Sales of the digital copy will begin on August 12.
- The original Salvator Mundi artwork sold at Christie’s auction in New York for $450.3 million.
The “Savior of the World” painting, believed to be by Leonardo da Vinci and/or his disciples, will be available to collectors as an NFT copy. This is reported by The Art Newspaper.
Tokenization of the canvas depicting Jesus Christ holding a crystal ball will be handled by the ElmonX platform in partnership with image licensing company Bridgeman Images. Sales begin Aug. 12, with terms to be announced at a later date.
In 2017 at Christie’s auction, the artwork bought for a record $450.3 million.
The source specified that the owner of the Salvator Mundi painting was the bidder representing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The masterpiece’s present whereabouts remain unknown.
“Savior of the World” isn’t the only painting with an NFT-version. The partnership between ElmonX and Bridgeman Images has produced several other digital copies of paintings, the statement said:
- “Mona Lisa” (1503) by Leonardo da Vinci;
- “Starry Night” (1889) by Van Gogh;
- “The Thinker” (1904) by Auguste Rodin;
- “Nymphaeus” (1907) by Claude Monet.
“As leading fine art licensing specialists, we are delighted to be working with ElmonX, experts in NFT creation,” a Bridgeman Images spokesperson told the publication.
In March 2022, Italian museums auctioned NFT versions of six paintings by artists Raphael, Leonardo, Caravaggio and Modigliani. In September, auction house Christie’s unveiled an NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain.
Auction house Christie’s has introduced an NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain.