by Jon Lackman | 30 March 2006 | Renaissance
Leonardo is much in the news, and not just because journalists have boundless enthusiasm for Dan Brown articles. “Art officials in Florence, Italy, have resumed the search for a fresco by Leonardo da Vinci believed to be hidden in a Palazzo Vecchio wall. The fresco called Battle of Anghiari is described as the Holy Grail of the art world. An international panel comprised of top Leonardo experts will return to Florence to examine new evidence in the search as well as study the history of the search and the Florence archives … The latest clue was discovered by Maurizio Seracini … He said the hidden wall may contain ‘significant’ traces of the fresco.”
“There is a host of previously unseen figures under one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most important works, according to an Italian art investigator … [Maurizio] Seracini used infrared and ultrasound probes to get under the surface of the Adoration of the Magi in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. He said he found almost 70 figures inspired by the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Zaccharias. ‘No one has ever seen these drawings, at least since the paint was applied onto the work, probably by artists other than Leonardo.’”
“As a seven-year-old boy Jacques Franck was shown a picture of the Mona Lisa, and a lifelong passion was born along with a single burning question: How did Leonardo Da Vinci achieve such perfection? Today after decades of study, years of being snubbed by academic and museum circles and a stubborn refusal to be sidelined, this bespectacled, softly-spoken art enthusiast says: ‘I have the answer.’ … A new book by Louvre experts due out this year reveals that traces of a sketch have been found underneath the oil portrait. Through a series of six panels reconstructing the Mona Lisa’s eye, Franck seeks to show that Da Vinci first painted over the sketch. He then applied a diluted oil-based, semi-opaque wash to soften the lines and then carefully retouched the details using dots made by a fine brush, before applying another very thin wash in a kind of sandwich, Franck says. Franck believes some parts of her face may have up to 30 layers on them, even though the paint layer is incredibly thin.”
