Saudi Crown Prince Namee as Buyer of Da Vinci Salvador Mundi - Louvre States they Acquired the Painting

Several news outlets are reporting on a story in the Wall Street Journal that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the buyer of the recent $450 million Leonardo Da Vinci which sold a few weeks ago in NYC at Christie's.

Other reports also state the painting will by on either on loan or was purchased by or given to the  Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Bloomberg reports on the Saudi Crown Prince story

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is the true buyer of the Leonardo Da Vinci painting that sold last month for a record $450 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has undertaken an anti-corruption campaign, bought the painting using a distant relative as a “proxy,” the newspaper said Thursday, citing a source in the U.S. government intelligence community and a Saudi art-world figure familiar with the purchase. It didn’t identify either person.

The crown prince used Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud to handle the acquisition, the Journal said. But Prince Mohammed is identified as the painting’s buyer in U.S. intelligence reports, the newspaper said.

The New York Times on Wednesday identified Prince Bader as the acquirer, citing documents it reviewed.

Christie’s, the auction house that sold the painting, disclosed that the Da Vinci will be going to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. In a Tweet yesterday, the museum confirmed that it’s getting the painting.

Christie’s has declined to comment on the buyer.

Source: Bloomberg

 Bloomberg reports on the Louvre Abu Dhabi story

The Louvre Abu Dhabi said on Friday that the Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold last month at a Christie’s auction for $450 million, was "acquired" by the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism for the museum.

The identity of the buyer has been a sought-after secret. The New York Times reported that the painting had been purchased by a Saudi prince called Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, a friend and associate of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, citing documents it reviewed. The Wall Street Journal said the buyer was a proxy for the crown prince, citing a U.S. government intelligence official and a Middle Eastern art-world figure familiar with the purchase.

Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority wasn’t immediately available for comment. In a tweet on Wednesday, the Louvre Abu Dhabi said it was getting the painting. The museum recently opened with more than 600 artworks for its permanent collection.

Believed to be the last Da Vinci in private hands, “Salvator Mundi” commanded four times what Christie’s had projected and the most ever paid for a work of art, even as skeptics questioned its authenticity. The seller was Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who purchased it for $127.5 million in 2013.

Source: Bloomberg