Rare da Vinci—maybe—comes to light
“This saying is trustworthy,” says the author of the Second Letter to Timothy of the gospel he has preached. While this year's Nobel Prize-winning physicists inferred the trustworthy existence of a particle proven to exist years later, art historians have recently discovered in a private collection of 400 works . . .
“This saying is trustworthy,” says the author of the Second Letter to Timothy of the gospel he has preached. While this year's Nobel Prize-winning physicists inferred the trustworthy existence of a particle proven to exist years later, art historians have recently discovered in a private collection of 400 works kept in an Italian family’s Swiss bank vault the possible existence of a painting lost for so long it had assumed mythical status.
Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, the work, which depicts the Renaissance noblewoman Isabella d’Este, appears to be a completed, painted version of a pencil sketch drawn by da Vinci in Mantua in the Lombardy region of northern Italy in 1499. The drawing hangs in Paris’ Louvre Museum.
After seeing the original drawing he had produced, the marquesa wrote to the artist, imploring him to produce a full-blown painting. But art historians had long believed Leonardo simply ran out of time—or lost interest—in completing the commission for d’Este, one of the most influential female figures of her day.
Scientific tests have shown that the type of pigment in the portrait was the same as that used by Leonardo, and that the primer used to treat the canvas on which it was painted corresponds to that employed by the Renaissance genius.
“There are no doubts that the portrait is the work of Leonardo,” Carlo Pedretti, a professor emeritus of art history and an expert in Leonardo studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Corriere della Sera newspaper. But there needs to be further analysis to determine whether certain elements of the portrait were the work of Leonardo or one of his pupils, Pedretti said.
For his part, while he has doubts about whether the painting was really the work of Leonardo, Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of the history of art at Trinity College, Oxford and one of the world’s foremost experts on da Vinci, said that if the find were authenticated it would be worth “tens of millions of pounds” because there are only 15 to 20 genuine da Vinci works known in the world.
Homily hint: The works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and other great artists of the Renaissance offer a rich canvas of wondeful painting and sculpture, among other art forms, including much sacred art. Encourage the members of your community to acquaint themselves with this great heritage by visiting a museum or website or reading a book which feature these works.
Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, the work, which depicts the Renaissance noblewoman Isabella d’Este, appears to be a completed, painted version of a pencil sketch drawn by da Vinci in Mantua in the Lombardy region of northern Italy in 1499. The drawing hangs in Paris’ Louvre Museum.
After seeing the original drawing he had produced, the marquesa wrote to the artist, imploring him to produce a full-blown painting. But art historians had long believed Leonardo simply ran out of time—or lost interest—in completing the commission for d’Este, one of the most influential female figures of her day.
Scientific tests have shown that the type of pigment in the portrait was the same as that used by Leonardo, and that the primer used to treat the canvas on which it was painted corresponds to that employed by the Renaissance genius.
“There are no doubts that the portrait is the work of Leonardo,” Carlo Pedretti, a professor emeritus of art history and an expert in Leonardo studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Corriere della Sera newspaper. But there needs to be further analysis to determine whether certain elements of the portrait were the work of Leonardo or one of his pupils, Pedretti said.
For his part, while he has doubts about whether the painting was really the work of Leonardo, Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of the history of art at Trinity College, Oxford and one of the world’s foremost experts on da Vinci, said that if the find were authenticated it would be worth “tens of millions of pounds” because there are only 15 to 20 genuine da Vinci works known in the world.
Homily hint: The works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and other great artists of the Renaissance offer a rich canvas of wondeful painting and sculpture, among other art forms, including much sacred art. Encourage the members of your community to acquaint themselves with this great heritage by visiting a museum or website or reading a book which feature these works.
Source: An article by Nick Squires for The Telegraph (U.K.)