# How A $450 Million Da Vinci Painting Got Lost In America For Years



## 1QTPie (Sep 19, 2018)

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/h...ting-got-lost-in-america-for-years-2018-09-19









Leonardo da Vinci’s rediscovered painting of Christ as the world’s savior, “Salvator Mundi”—auctioned last year for a record-setting $450.3 million—has been owned by British kings and Russian oligarchs. But until now no one knew much about the nearly half-century it spent lost in obscurity in the U.S.

*Fresh details have emerged about the da Vinci’s whereabouts and the unsuspecting Louisiana family who lived with the painting for decades before a pair of Old Master dealers bought it from their patriarch’s estate sale in New Orleans in 2005 for less than $10,000. The dealers, Robert Simon and Alexander Parrish, have since successfully lobbied the art world for its reauthentication as a work by the Renaissance master.*

The findings about its lost years in Louisiana, gleaned from cross-referencing photographs, auction catalogs, obituaries, and other documents, fill a key gap in the meandering ownership history of the world’s most expensive painting. Da Vinci’s circa-1500 image of Christ dressed in blue robes with his left hand cradling a clear orb may not be as instantly recognizable as his “Mona Lisa,” but it’s a rare treasure. Fewer than 20 of da Vinci’s paintings survive and more than a century has passed since the last time one was rediscovered.

Susan Hendry Tureau, a 70-year-old retired library technician in Baton Rouge, La., only last week learned that a painting her father, Basil Clovis Hendry Sr., had owned was reauthenticated as a da Vinci. She said he acquired the painting after she and her siblings were adults and no longer living with him. Her brother and her niece remember seeing it hanging in the plantation-style Baton Rouge home of her father, who owned a local sheet-metal company, she said. Hendry Tureau remembers a number of religious-themed paintings at her father’s house, though not specifically the da Vinci. Hendry Tureau’s brother, Basil Clovis Hendry Jr., didn’t respond to requests for comment. Her niece couldn’t be reached for comment.

Hendry Tureau said her father, who died in June 2004, inherited artworks after the 1987 death of his aunt, Minnie Stanfill Kuntz. The aunt’s husband, Warren E. Kuntz, ran a furniture business in New Orleans and died in 1968. Hendry Tureau said her great aunt and great uncle often traveled to Europe, and purchased art and antiques for their collection while abroad. Travel records uncovered by The Wall Street Journal indicate the couple returned from London in the summer of 1958—just as Sotheby’s was auctioning the estate of Sir Francis Cook, including the painting. By that point, the da Vinci had been mischaracterized as a “school of da Vinci” portrait of Christ by one of the artist’s pupils, Giovanni Boltraffio, whose works are not as coveted.


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## nysister (Sep 19, 2018)

That's quite the story!


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## 1QTPie (Sep 19, 2018)

They have to make a movie about this. It's kinda crazy.


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## Reinventing21 (Sep 21, 2018)

What does the hand sign mean?  What is the crystal orb for?  Why does 'Jesus' look like a cross between Mona Lisa (with a bad roller set) and ___ ?  What kind of clothes is 'Jesus' wearing?  Are the colors symbolic of something?

I want to understand the motive behind the painting as well as its context.


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## Petal26 (Sep 23, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> What does the hand sign mean?  What is the crystal orb for?  Why does 'Jesus' look like a cross between Mona Lisa (with a bad roller set) and ___ ?  What kind of clothes is 'Jesus' wearing?  Are the colors symbolic of something?
> 
> I want to understand the motive behind the painting as well as its context.


The hand sign symbolizes the cross.  The orb represents the world.


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## Reinventing21 (Sep 23, 2018)

Petal26 said:


> The hand sign symbolizes the cross.  The orb represents the world.



I figured as much but the painting looks so creepy to me lol, plus with all the conspiracy theories floating around and these neonazi hand signs etc., these days...my imagination getting the best of me or not...


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## Petal26 (Sep 23, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> I figured as much but the painting looks so creepy to me lol, plus with all the conspiracy theories floating around and these neonazi hand signs etc., these days...my imagination getting the best of me or not...


I hear ya!

The two fingers crossed is pretty popular  (I grew up Catholic).  I think technically it's his initials in Greek.
















Sometimes there's a modification 











I think I've seen the two fingers (without crossing) more than the sign above






According to someone in Pinterest:






https://christianity.stackexchange....on-of-fingers-in-jesus-hand-as-shown-in-his-i

*What is the significance of position of fingers in Jesus' hand as shown in his images?*
up vote 7 down vote favorite
*2*
In most of the visual images of Jesus – both in picture and sculpture forms – fingers of His right hand, raised in blessing, follow a particular arrangement. Is there any significance to that arrangement? Have different Churches including the Catholic Church given official recognition to its interpretation?






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* 3 Answers *
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up vote 7 down vote
From: What does this hand gesture mean in Icons? (Wordpress.com)

*The fingers spell out “IC XC”, a widely used four letter abbreviation of the Greek for Jesus (IHCOYC) Christ (XPICTOC).* It is by the name of Jesus that we are saved and receive blessings: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” (Phil 2:10).

I am not Orthodox but have learned a lot about that faith, the local priest here has said the same thing.

From the Orthodox Church of America site, "Placement of fingers in icons," I would assume an authoritative source.

You see this in a lot of Eastern Orthodox icons:





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edited Sep 3 '16 at 13:35



Ken Graham
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answered Jan 22 '16 at 19:04



JimLohse
1687
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up vote 2 down vote
According to a former Vatican archivalist this answerer interviewed, you will predominantly see two different hand positions.

*In Greek and Byzantine Christian art, as well as in most Eastern traditions, Christ is usually depicted with the ring finger or ring and little fingers on the thumb, and the index and middle fingers held up. 


In Catholic art, Christ is usually depicted with an open hand or with the index or middle finger on the thumb, though Catholic depictions of Christ are often more narrative and less iconic than Eastern depictions, so the arrangement of his hands is often supportive of the narrative, at least more so than in Eastern icons. 


The reason for the different position in the hands has to do with the manner in which each of these churches practices anointing with oil. In each tradition, the upheld fingers correspond to those which are anointed with oil upon ordination of the priest, which are then used by the priest to bless others with oil for anointing. *

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edited Sep 2 '16 at 1:29


answered Jan 22 '16 at 15:07



Andrew
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2
I would say in practice there is some truth to this answer, in my experience at Orthodox liturgies the priests use this arrangement of fingers to bless people all the time. Would be nice if there were a source for this info, other than an appeal to authority  – JimLohse Jan 22 '16 at 19:12
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up vote 2 down vote
Both Western and Eastern traditions have used this particular finger arrangement for centuries, although in the West (Roman Catholics), this particular gesture have been put aside in the last few decades. this placement of the fingers is not uniquely reserved for priests either.

*Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB (1805-1875) in his monumental work The Liturgical Year (volume 15) explains the signification of this gesture on his entry for the Feast of St. Cecilia (November 22). Abbot Gueranger explained that the body of this martyr was discovered in the Catacombs of St. Callistus in 1599 and that her right hand was found in this very position. while her left hand had index finger pointing straight out. The two fingers of the left hand signified the two natures in Christ (human and divine) and the other three fingers together signified the Holy Trinity. As for the index finger of the left hand. Dom Gueranger tells us that it signified the truth of one God. "St. Cecilia," 1599 (Wikipedia).*

*It seems that the open hand of Christ symbolizes peace and the five wounds of Christ. *Other icons have the finger placement in a slightly different position on Christ's right hand and have a somewhat different meaning. Both Greek and Latin variations and their meaning can be found here: What is the significance of Christ's hand gesture (thumb and two fingers up, two fingers down) in Christian art? (below)

The sign of the cross was made at liturgical functions over persons and things, sometimes with five fingers extended, to represent the Five Wounds of Christ, sometimes with three, in sign of the Persons of the Trinity, and sometimes with only one, symbolical of the unity of God. For the blessing of the chalice and oblations Leo IV prescribed that two fingers be extended and thumb placed beneath them. This is the only true sign of the Trinitarian Cross. The pope warmly recommended his clergy to make this sign with care, else their blessing would be fruitless. The action was accompanied by the solemn formula, "In nomine Patris, etc." Another use of the cross was in the solemn dedication of churches. - Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix

http://art-history.yoexpert.com/art...gnificance-of-christ-s-hand-gesture-5016.html

*This gesture, in which his first two fingers and his thumb are extended and his third and fourth finger are closed, is among the most frequently occurring of Christ's hand gestures in Christian art. It emerged as a sign of benediction (or blessing) in early Christian and Byzantine art, and its use continued through the Medieval period, and into the Renaissance. *

The sign is most frequently seen in iconographic images of Christ, which appeared in churches in the Early Byzantine and Medieval periods in the form of mosaics, stained glass windows, relief sculptures, and paintings. One of the most common of such images is the Christ Pantocrator (or Christ Almighty), which depicts Christ, usually isolated against a golden background, with his head encircled by a halo, his left arm hugging the gospels to his chest and his right hand raised in the sign of benediction. It is important to note that this gesture is always made with the right hand, as this is the hand with which one blesses, according to Christian doctrine.

The sign was originally derived from a symbol used in Roman art to indicate speaking, and first gained popularity as a Christian symbol shortly after Constantine's issue of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, allowing Christians to practice their religion freely, without the threat of persecution. Indeed, Constantine himself converted to Christianity, and Christian art flourished. In early images of Christ, one can see an early manifestation of the sign of benediction in which the thumb is closed over the palm, rather than open. *As Christian art evolved, symbols, including Christ's hand gestures, took on deeper significance. With the thumb opened, the three open digits came to represent the Trinity (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), while the two closed represented the dual nature of Christ as both man and God. *

*When the Church split early in the second century AD, the symbol for blessing used by the two newly-formed churches likewise split. The Greek Orthodox church began to make use of a symbol derived from a common abbreviation of the Greek version of Christ's name. In this manifestation of the sign of blessing, the first finger is held erect, representing an 'I'; the second is bent in the shape of a 'C'; the thumb and third finger cross to form an 'X'; and the pinky, like the second finger, curves into a 'C'. Thus, the five digits together spell out "IC XC" an abbreviation of the Greek name of Jesus Christ, taken from the first and last letters of both parts of his name. The Roman Catholic Church, meanwhile, maintained the use of the three open digits and two closed (now so familiar to Westerners). The early sign, in which the thumb is closed, had by this time faded almost completely.*

With the onset of the Renaissance in Western Europe, the sign of benediction became less common in Christian art, due primarily to the shift away from iconographic images of Christ-as-Savior towards more naturalistic depictions, emphasizing the human in Christ over the God. Unlike the highly stylized, reverence-inspiring images of old, Renaissance art presented a more realistic image of Christ as he would have appeared to those who saw him in the flesh. He was more likely to be painted in the humiliation of betrayal, or the agony of death, than in the glory of Christ Pantocrator.

Still, the gesture does occasionally appear; though void of the characteristic rigidity of earlier icons, it takes on a rather casual feel, more akin to a guy flashing a "peace" sign than to The Savior bestowing his blessing.


Whew!  That was long!


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