A review by marginaliant
The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting by Ben Lewis

5.0

The Last Leonardo is a refreshing look at one of the most curious works of art that has surfaced in the art market lately. This was not my first encounter with the Salvator Mundi, as I worked as an art dealer and followed the case closely when it was being shopped around. Later, in 2017 when it broke the record for the most expensive painting ever sold, I had some serious doubts.
The book is divided into roughly three intertwining sections. One is a biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. This is a fairly general biography that doesn't add much new but does give the uninitiated a better idea of who Leonardo Da Vinci was and why he has become almost an archetypal artistic genius. Another follows the art dealer Robert Simon in the early 2000s as he attempts to research, restore (with the help of Dianne Modestini) and sell the Salvator Mundi. The last section follows the Salvator Mundi's provenance over the course of the nearly five hundred years from the time it was produced until now.
Of these three sections, I think many people would find this third section the most tedious. Lewis is very thorough in explaining how old masters were "restored" (or overpainted), cropped, destroyed, re-attributed, and lost over the course of centuries. However, I thought it was absolutely necessary to support the most interesting part of the book: Ben Lewis poking holes in the sketchy attribution and even sketchier provenance of the Salvator Mundi.
This book would be my recommendation for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Salvator Mundi as this book gives the most detailed history of the painting and the mystery surrounding it that I have read. Further, I think Ben Lewis has a great sense of humor and a great sense of drama, which makes parts of this novel read like a gripping true crime tale. It was a joy to read.