The Lost Leonardo (2021)
91%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 4 nominations
A documentary that feels like a heist thriller, The Lost Leonardo paints an arresting portrait of some of the art world’s most colorful characters.
If you’re looking for a documentary that’s both informative and entertaining, then The Lost Leonardo is the perfect pick. This film takes you on a wild ride through the world of art dealing, where the stakes are high and the players are even higher. From clandestine meetings to eccentric characters, this movie has it all. And let’s not forget about the mystery surrounding the painting itself – is it a masterpiece or a dud? You’ll have to watch to find out. But one thing’s for sure, The Lost Leonardo will leave you feeling like a true art connoisseur.
Production Company(ies)
Mad As Birds G-B A S E Head Gear Films,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for nude art images
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United Kingdom, Denmark
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 13, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2021
Genre(s)
Documentary/Drama
Keyword(s)
documentary, drama, art world, Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi, expensive painting, auction house, authenticity, power players, hidden agendas, richest men, art institutions, brushstrokes, restoration, fame, money, power, heist thriller, colorful characters, critic reviews, PG-13, Andreas Koefoed, Andreas Møl Dalsgaard, Christoph Jörg, Duska Zagorac, Mark Monroe, Christian Kirk Muff, Jerry Saltz, Dianne Dwyer Modestini, Martin Kemp, Robert K Wittman, Doug Patteson, Alexandra Bregman, Sony Pictures Classics, box office, gross USA, $450 million, budget, reviewed by, produced by, directed by, written by, starring
Worldwide gross: $600,188
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $652,769
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,683
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 71,185
US/Canada gross: $445,740
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $484,790
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,332
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,487
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,581
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,627
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Dianne Dwyer Modestini – Self
Martin Kemp – Self
Robert K. Wittman – Self
Doug Patteson – Self
Alexandra Bregman – Self
Director(s)
Andreas Koefoed
Writer(s)
Andreas Koefoed, Duska Zagorac, Andreas Møl Dalsgaard, Mark Monroe, Christian Kirk Muff, Andreas Koefoed
Producer(s)
Andreas Møl Dalsgaard, Christoph Jörg
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (2)
There have been several recent films about the pressures dictating prices on the international art market, but none have been as instructive — or as enthralling — as The Lost Leonardo.
December 6, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Perhaps Da Vinci should have painted Christ throwing the art dealers out of the temple.
September 10, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Sweet heavens, this is strong.
September 10, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The unknown becomes the unknowable. In this story, all interests are vested, and the most esteemed authorities can be – at best – winging it.
September 8, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Raphael Abraham
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
The re-creations of clandestine meetings and shots of faceless men transporting the painting can be a bit cloak-and-dagger cheesy, [but] that’s the only stumble in a film that tells a strange tale populated by a cast of eccentric and dangerous characters.
September 2, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Josh Kupecki
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Really, “The Lost Leonardo” is a detective story. Like any good detective story, it’s also a morality tale.
September 1, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
A detective story of a doco. It isn’t a new approach, let alone a unique or unusual one, but it savvily relies upon the combined force of a ripping yarn and rollicking storytelling.
July 8, 2022
Sarah Ward
Concrete Playground
Does what the best documentaries do: opens a door to an insular world and extends its scope to become something else entirely, showing how this small world can create ripples that expand throughout the larger world.
May 10, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Dan Bayer
Next Best Picture
Even for audiences who do not care about the art industry or do not normally seek out documentaries, this is juicy and shocking enough to be a rewarding and engaging viewing experience.
February 22, 2022
Carson Timar
Clapper
The jury is still out as to whether it is the ultimate status symbol or the most expensive dud ever sold to a rich, naive collector.
January 7, 2022
John McDonald
Australian Financial Review
Properly captures the sense of dread, corruption, and duplicity that lurks at the heart of the art world.
October 27, 2021
Nathanael Hood
Unseen Films
What happened in the 12 years between 2005 and 2019, when the Paris Louvre planned it as part of a special exhibition, is as intriguing as a potboiler fiction
October 22, 2021 | Rating: B+
Lynn Venhaus
Webster-Kirkwood Times…
Plot
The Lost Leonardo is the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million. From the moment the painting is bought for $1175 at a shady New Orleans auction house, and the restorer discovers masterful Renaissance brushstrokes under the heavy varnish of its cheap restoration, the Salvator Mundi’s fate is determined by an insatiable quest for fame, money and power. As its price soars, so do the questions about its authenticity: is this painting really by Leonardo da Vinci? Unravelling the hidden agendas of the richest men and the most powerful art institutions in the world, The Lost Leonardo reveals how vested interests in the Salvator Mundi are of such tremendous power that truth becomes secondary.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Lost Leonardo features interviews with art world experts and insiders, including Jerry Saltz, Dianne Dwyer Modestini, and Martin Kemp.
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