Crown Prince to build Louvre of Saudi Arabia featuring $450mn Leonardo da Vinci: report

Saudi Arabia is planning to build a version of the Louvre museum in Riyadh, according to a new BBC documentary on the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The world’s most expensive artwork, ‘Salvator Mundi’, by Leonardo da Vinci that was bought by the crown prince for $450 million in 2017, will be at the center of the collection, according to Daily Mail.

Speaking on a new BBC documentary titled ‘The Kingdom: The World’s Most Powerful Prince’, Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princetown University, said the prince has a desire to “build a very large museum in Riyadh”.

Haykel said he asked the crown prince about the whereabouts of the Salvator Mundi and he told him that he wished to use it in his replication of the Louvre.

The da Vinci artwork has been in a vault in Geneva for years since its record-breaking purchase, but Crown Prince Mohammed now wants to use the piece as the ‘anchor object’ in an effort to drive millions of tourists to the Saudi capital, added Daily Mail.

Saudi Arabia drew 27 million foreign tourists in 2023 and more than doubled its goal for the end of the decade.

It hopes to hit 150 million tourists by 2030, as it continues to diversify its economy.

‘Cartier, Islamic Inspiration and Modern Design’ opens at Louvre Abu Dhabi

The BBC added that the Saudis have hired several art leaders to oversee including Iwona Blazwick, former director of the Whitechapel Gallery in London and Hartwig Fischer, former director of the British Museum.

Tourism is an important element of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to help the world’s biggest crude exporter transition away from fossil fuels and prepare for an eventual post-oil future.

The kingdom has in recent years relaxed rules barring cinemas, gender-mixed concerts and sporting extravaganzas. Saudi Arabia is also looking to host the 2034 soccer World Cup.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi was opened in November 2017, with a deal between the UAE and France that allows the museum to use the Louvre name until 2047.