The Wall Street Journal revealed what it said are secret plans that the Saudi authorities are working on to display the painting of international artist Leonardo Da Vinci known as "The Savior of the World", which has not appeared in public since its acquisition by a close associate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman three years ago.

The newspaper quoted informed sources that the Saudi Ministry of Culture decided to keep the painting in a secret location until the construction of museums that can be displayed in it.

The newspaper quoted Hamad bin Fayez, the Saudi assistant minister of culture, as saying that the kingdom’s authorities have developed a plan to establish a number of museums and galleries, with the aim of transforming Saudi Arabia into a tourist destination.

The newspaper also quoted the Director General of the Committee of Museums in the Saudi Ministry of Culture, Stefano Carboni, that the committee is considering setting up a museum of Western art in order to display the painting, which cost about half a billion dollars, without raising such controversy as the one that accompanied its acquisition.

The newspaper indicated that the Saudi authorities are concerned about the controversy the painting may display on the kingdom's cultural and religious identity.

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The painting was sold at an auction held by Christie's Auction House in New York on November 15, 2017 at $ 450.3 million, which is a record amount greater than twice the previous record for artwork in an auction, and more than four times the estimated value of the painting before the auction, which is about 100 million dollars.

The New York Times said then that it had documents confirming that the buyer of the "Savior of the World" painting was the Saudi Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Farhan Al Saud, a friend and close associate of Muhammad bin Salman.

The painting embodies Christ, peace be upon him, and shows him while raising his right hand and in his left hand a glass ball.

The painting has sparked controversy more than once throughout its history, but it was the biggest controversy that opened its doors about its authenticity, when the Louvre Abu Dhabi acquired it after the Saudi Prince purchased it, and it was decided at the time that the painting would be displayed in the museum, but shortly before the show - specifically in September 2018 - The museum announced that the display of the painting had been postponed indefinitely without giving reasons.

The painting was also scheduled to display in one of the "Da Vinci Paintings" exhibitions held by the Louvre Museum in France in the fall of 2019 to celebrate the fifth centenary of the death of Italy's most famous artist, but the museum declined to display it after a museum consultant opposed the painting, stressing that it is not the original painting from "Savior of the World" ".