Salvator Mundi
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Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb surmounted by a cross, known as a globus cruciger. The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whole composition has strong eschatological undertones.
The theme was made popular by Northern painters such as Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, and Albrecht Dürer. There are also several versions of the theme attributed to Titian, notably the one in the Hermitage Museum.
In France, Leonardo da Vinci painted the subject for Louis XII of France between 1506 and 1513. It is generally agreed that the original painting has been lost, although the Marquis de Ganay maintains that the version in his possession is the original. Anyway, we have a lengthy description of the piece by Vasari, and several etchings made after it.
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