by Jon Lackman | 23 June 2006 | Renaissance
From the Wall Street Journal: “Santa Maria delle Grazie, already home to Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper,’ may provide a second reason to visit if a recently discovered fragment of a fresco in an infrequently visited room turns out to be another work by the Renaissance master. The as-yet unnamed fragment, a meter wide and about 40 centimeters high, lightly shows the tilted head and the shoulders of what appears to be the Virgin Mary … It was discovered only in August last year, when a massive wooden armoire that had blocked the spot for centuries was moved. Experts say the work is more likely to be that of one of Leonardo’s students than Leonardo himself, but they are conducting an investigation to determine its origins. For six months beginning June 6, visitors will be allowed to see the fragment and form their own opinions. Milan-based art historians who have studied the piece say that it seems to be fairly crude by Leonardo’s standards and that there’s no record of his working in the room where the fresco is found, the Piccola Sagrestia, or small sacristy. But the work does date to around 1500, more or less the same period in which Leonardo toiled to produce ‘The Last Supper.’ The subject matter is related and there are similarities in the technique used in both works.”
