*$450m 'Da Vinci painting' heads to Louvre Abu Dhabi*

A 500-year-old painting of Christ believed to be the work of Leonardo da Vinci is heading to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum has said. The newly-opened museum made the announcement on Twitter, without specifying whether it had bought the painting at auction this month. Media reports say it was purchased by a Saudi prince. The work - known as Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World) - was sold in New York for a record $450m (£341m).

It was the highest auction price for any work of art. The unidentified buyer was involved in a bidding contest, via telephone, that lasted nearly 20 minutes. The New York Times reported that it was bought by Saudi prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, citing documents the newspaper had reviewed. Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519 and there are fewer than 20 of his paintings in existence.