By Audrey Fein
The images above are both photos of da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which was auctioned for $450 million at Christie’s in 2017. On the left (from @thomascampbell’s Instagram page) is the image of the painting before restoration by Dianne Dwyer Modestini of NYU’s Conservation Center. The photo on the right (from the Christie’s catalogue) is the result of her restoration of the centuries-old painting. Modestini had to alter certain aspects of the painting to get it ready for auction.