The $450 million Salvator Mundi was supposed to go on display at the Louvre Abu Dhabi this month.

Abu Dhabi art fans will have to wait a little longer to see the most expensive piece of art ever sold.

Salvator Mundi, a long lost masterpiece by Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, was meant to go on display at the Louvre Abu Dhabi from September 18.

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The 500-year-old painting was purchased by the museum for US$450 million (Dhs1.65 billion) at a Christie’s auction in New York in 2017.

However, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism has now announced the unveiling of the painting has been postponed.

No further details have been given, though it is rumoured that the art museum might be waiting until its one-year anniversary on November 11 to unveil the masterpiece.

Salvator Mundi depicts a half-length Jesus dressed in a blue robe, holding an orb and staring outwards. The painting is one of fewer than 20 known surviving works by da Vinci, including the infamous Mona Lisa currently on display at the Louvre in Paris.

It is believed to have been created for the French royal family, and later travelled to England where it was recorded in the collection of King Charles I. It later disappeared from records and was presumed to have been destroyed, however, it was rediscovered in 2007.

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