Da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' Could Fetch $100 Million At Auction

A rediscovered artwork by Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci was set to be auctioned Wednesday in New York for at least $100 million.

"Salvator Mundi" — also pegged as the "Last da Vinci"— is one of 16 surviving original works by the renowned artist, including the "Mona Lisa," and features Jesus dressed in Renaissance-era robes with a crystal orb in his left hand and his right hand held up as a sign of blessing.

Originally painted in the early 1500s, "Salvator Mundi" has seen plenty of owners over its 500 years. The painting has disappeared and reappeared on the public's radar numerous times, but the most recent rediscovery was in 2005. The work was believed at first to be a copy, however, after a 6-year process of restoring and verifying the artwork, it was finally concluded that the piece was, in fact, an original da Vinci.

All of da Vinci's artworks are displayed in various museums which makes "Salvator Mundi" the last da Vinci in private hands. The auction of this particular painting is set to occur Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Christie's auction house in New York.

"I can hardly convey how exciting it is for those of us directly involved in its sale," said Christie's specialist Alan Wintermute in a CBS news report Wednesday. "The word 'masterpiece' barely begins to convey the rarity, importance and sublime beauty of Leonardo's painting."

The rare work of da Vinci is not the only masterpiece to be sold during Christie's auction. "Laboureur dans un champ," a masterpiece painted by famous impressionistic painter Vincent Van Gogh, was sold Monday for $81.3 million after a four-minute long battle among bidders after being valued at $50 million.

Christie's also holds the record for most expensive art piece ever sold. "The Women of Algiers (Version O)" by Pablo Picasso was auctioned for a whopping $179.4 million in 2015.