Every family has that one sibling who somehow ends up with a mythic aura, and in mine, it’s my brother Gerd. At a Christmas gathering a few years ago, someone once again remarked that he looks a bit like Jesus—an observation we’ve all heard multiple times. Shortly before that, the Salvator Mundi attributed to Leonardo da Vinci had just been auctioned off for a record‑shattering sum to a Saudi prince. The coincidence was too delicious to ignore. Somewhere between the holiday wine and the laughter, the idea was born: if the world could have a $450‑million Salvator Mundi, surely our family could have one too—painted from life, starring Gerd himself. Another coincidence is my brother in his early childhood could not pronounce Monika and called me Mundi.