'The Last da Vinci Exhibition' at Christie's

Christie's, the auction house, has put on a short, three-day exhibition showing the last painting by Leonardo da Vinci to still be in private hands before it's auctioned in New York. The painting is called 'Salvator Mundi' (Saviour of the World) and shows Christ with one hand raised in blessing and a crystal orb in his other hand. The painting has already been on show in Hong Kong and San Francisco and heads off to New York on Saturday to go on show before being auctioned. The estimated price is $100m so I don't think I'll put in a bid.

It's only recently been authenticated as a Leonardo painting, one of only 20 known paintings by him rather than by his workshop or pupils. It was 'rediscovered' in 2005 and, after six years of research, was unveiled as a Leonardo in 2011 at the National Gallery, London.

That painting will have been x-rayed, studied in infrared, paint samples tested to check the chemical composition matches the paint made around 1500 when it was painted, brush techniques will have been examined and lots of paper records will have been examined to find written, historical provinence. According to Christie's, the earliest reference to it was being in the Royal Collection of Charles I and hung in the private chambers of his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, in her palace at Greenwich.

 It's only on show in London for three days so I made it along to Christie's in St James's on the last day. Inevitably, there was a queue out the door and around the corner - the lady in the black suit (all employees seemed to be in black suits) said the waiting time was about 30 minutes. In the end, it was probably only 20 minutes. Let in in small groups there was a very orderly British queue through a doorway into one room, then into another, and then, round another corner, there it was on the wall with a single spotlight and two guards either side. Surprisingly, we were allowed to take photos without flash so I did.

The painting's not very big, probably about life-sized of head and shoulders, and there's a definite touch of the 'Mona Lisa' in the face. The painting is delicate and precise, with Christ's hair in ringlets and he seems to be wearing some kind of tunic rather the robes he's usually painted in.

We weren't allowed to stand in front of the painting for very long - almost close enough to touch - before being asked to move on so others could have their 30 seconds. I used some of my time to look at the frame which reminded me of the frame for the Fra Angelico 'Virgin & Child' in the Rijksmuseum in Amersterdam - it's obviously a different colour, shape and design but I couldn't shake the lingering memory.

I'm pleased I saw it since I'll probably never have the opportunity to see it again. I hope it goes into a public collection somewhere and not just some rich person's bank vault. Thanks for the show Christie's.

'The Madonna of Humility' by Fra Angelico at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

On Sunday I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to see great paintings from the Northern painters  over the centuries and in particular to see a small altarpiece by Fra Angelico, 'Madonna of Humility'. The good Fra painted a number of small, devotional altarpieces with the Virgin and Child that we call 'Virgin of Humility' but they were probably called something very different at the time, more likely named after the donor who commissioned the work, either an individual, a family or an institution of some kind. The relatively small size of this painting suggests it was either for a small private chapel or for a domestic altar in a private home. I don't know who or what institution this altarpiece was painted for but, whoever it was, they were very lucky to have such a gorgeous work from the Fra.

Exploring and wandering past early Dutch and Flemish paintings you see a wall with a small group of golden paintings glowing in the gallery lights. These are early Renaissance Italian paintings with the Fra Angelico in the middle, the pride of this collection.  They have the gold leaf gilding and glowing colours that is the tell tale give away of when they were painted and this is also the most obvious difference with the Fra's works as he moved away from the plain gilded background to his richly textured cloth of gold that has a lovely warm glow.

This is where you can notice the big difference with similar paintings by the Fra. How is the cloth of gold held up and where are the angels? Look at this 'Virgin of Humility' in the Thyssen-Bornemesza  collection and the composition is very similar to the Rijksmuseum version and here you can see the cloth of gold being held by three angels, framing the holy family. This suggests to me that the Rijksmuseum panel has been cut down from a larger altarpiece so that the angels are removed and so is half of the Virgin's halo. I suspect (and hope) that there are some angel heads framed in gold and in a museum somewhere that belong with this altarpiece. Maybe I'll find them one day.

The frame it is currently in is very nice, reflecting the colours of the painting, with stars against a blue sky painted around the curved top of the frame and the golden detail of the side panels. I would be very happy to have this painting on my wall.

It's a very gentle and peaceful composition that works well as a whole, with the slight blush on the Virgin's cheek and the infant reaching out to his mother. One of the joys of seeing paintings 'in the paint' in front of you is that you can examine the detail which you often can't by looking in books or online reproductions. Look at the folds in the Virgin's blue cloak and pink dress and the detail of the hem in which the golden pattern continues and reflects the folds. Given how relatively small the overall work is, this is incredibly detailed work that blurs even just standing a few feet away. This is partly the fine finishing detail of an important commission but also suggests the altarpiece was meant to be seen quite close-up.

Similarly the detail on the cloth of the golden cushion the Virgin sits on and the cloth of gold behind her which folds over to indicate it is being held in three dimensions rather than being hung as a prop. It's this detail that marks a great painting by a master who has the vision for the overall composition but who can also see the detail that brings the work alive.

My recent course at the National Gallery in London included a session on how paintings are hung in galleries and this is something I've started to notice. The Fra's altarpiece here is screwed  to the wall with heavy, thick bolts that you can just see in the shadow in this photo. Unusually, it's possible to get a view of the side of the frame from the doorway just a few yards away from where it hangs. It'll take time and effort to remove this painting from the wall!

It was lovely to see this wonderful altarpiece by Fra Angelico. I smiled when I saw it across the gallery and headed straight for it. The clever people at the Rijksmuseum have thoughtfully placed a comfortable bench in front of it so you can sit and gaze up at it. It's also a joy to get right up close and admire and enjoy the delicate details in the painting. Thank you Brother John for bringing more light into our lives.