The Guardian recently reported that a team of researchers are believed to have uncovered the existence of a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting behind a fresco at Florence’s town hall.
The discovery was made when researchers drilled small holes in the wall and inserted a 4mm wide probe to film inside. The paint samples they uncovered behind the wall are said to be similar to ones used by da Vinci for the Mona Lisa.
Mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, is pushing the Italian government to allow a removal of parts of the later fresco, Giorgio Vasari’s The Battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana.
“We need the courage to push on and resolve this mystery,” he said (The Guardian).
da Vinci’s painting, which is titled ‘The Battle of Anghiari’, is believed to have been hidden for the last five centuries. In 1504, he worked in the Hall of Five Hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio and managed to complete only the centerpiece of his work. After 1555, the palace room undertook renovations, causing the painting to be considered lost forever.
The research team behind the investigation into the lost painting was led by Maurizio Seracini, a researcher at the University of California in San Diego. Mr. Seracini was responsible for acquiring permission to drill the holes which have led to the discovery.
“Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in Florence at the same time,” Mr. Seracini said. “It appears to be a pigment used by [him] and not by other artists.”
Apart from the discovery of the similar pigment, the research team also discovered beige material on the wall that “could only have been applied by a paint brush.”
Naturally, many art experts remain unconvinced that the discovery will lead to da Vinci’s lost painting.
The head of Florence’s state restoration centre, Maco Ciatti, is amongst the skeptics. Other experts are firmly against the destruction of Giorgio Vasari’s fresco, which was painted in 1563.
Nonetheless, Mr. Seracini is adamant that the exploration should continue. He has stated that he will soon be seeking permission to drill in other restored areas, and believes that Vasari did not want to destroy da Vinci’s work, which is why he made the decision to paint his own fresco over da Vinci’s half-finished one.
This belief was strengthened when he discovered that Vasari had painted a soldier into his work, a soldier carrying a flag which read: “He who seeks, finds.”
