The announcement follows the auction at Christie’s New York last month where the painting fetched a premium-inclusive $450m, the highest sum ever bid for a work of art.
The museum was inaugurated only the week before the auction and is believed to have cost a combined figure of over $1bn to build and secure usage of the Louvre name.
Da Vinci's Salvator Mundi is coming to #LouvreAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/Zdstx6YFZG
— Louvre Abu Dhabi (@LouvreAbuDhabi) December 6, 2017
It has not yet been confirmed that The Louvre Abu Dhabi or the wealthy Abu Dhabi Emiri family actually bought the painting at the auction, but a post on Christie’s own Twitter feed read: “Congratulations — the Salvator Mundi is going to its new home the @LouvreAbuDhabi”.
The New York Times has reported that the picture was bought by Saudi prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, citing documents provided from inside Saudi Arabia that the newspaper had reviewed.
Congratulations — the Salvator Mundi is going to its new home the @LouvreAbuDhabi https://t.co/ehv8jm5Lii
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) December 6, 2017
