Record da Vinci painting worth more than £330m on way to new Louvre Abu Dhabi

A Leonardo da Vinci painting of Christ that sold in New York for a record $450 million (£336m) is heading to a museum in the United Arab Emirates.

The newly-opened Louvre Abu Dhabi made the announcement on Wednesday.

The 500-year-old painting is called Salvator Mundi, Latin for “saviour of the world”.

It is one of fewer than 20 paintings by the Renaissance master known to exist and the only one in private hands.

Christie’s auction house sold it to an anonymous buyer last month.

The New York Times reported the mystery buyer was a little-known Saudi prince according to documents it reviewed.

Christie’s says it doesn’t comment on the identities of buyers or sellers without their permission.

The highest known sale price for any artwork had been $300 million (£224m), for Willem de Kooning’s painting Interchange.

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