Leonardo da Vinci painting discovered

A lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci has been identified in an American collection and will be exhibited for the first time this November.

Titled Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) and dating around 1500, the newly discovered masterpiece depicts a half-length figure of Christ facing frontally, holding a crystal orb in his left hand as he raises his right in blessing.

One of some 15 surviving Leonardo oil paintings, the work will be included in Leonardo da Vinci: Painter At The Court Of Milan, to be held at the National Gallery in London from November 9, 2011 until February 5, 2012. The last time a Leonardo painting was discovered was in 1909, when the Benois Madonna, now in the Hermitage in St Petersburg, came to light.

Leonardo’s painting of the Salvator Mundi was long known to have existed, but was presumed to have been destroyed.

The composition was documented in two preparatory drawings by Leonardo and more than 20 painted copies by students and followers of the artist, as well as a meticulous 1650 etching made after the original painting by the Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar.

The recently rediscovered painting was first recorded in the art collection of King Charles I of England in 1649.