by Jon Lackman | 31 August 2006 | Renaissance
From the UK Observer: “Peering from his scaffold, 12 metres above ground, Maurizio Seracini could make out the inscription in the detail of a Renaissance fresco: ‘Cerca Trova.’ For the Florentine art detective it was the beginning of a 30-year quest. Translated into English, the words mean: ‘He who searches shall find.’
Imagine the works of Shakespeare without Hamlet, or Mozart without The Marriage of Figaro. For 500 years the world has had to contemplate Leonardo da Vinci without The Battle of Anghiari, a work of comparable importance to his masterpieces the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Seracini believes he knows where it is …
After three decades of investigation, Seracini was on the brink of carrying out scientific tests to prove his claim one way or the other. But for three years he has been frustrated by wrangling in Florence. Now the election of a new government in Italy, where art is seldom apolitical, has given his search fresh impetus. Francesco Rutelli, the Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister, will soon appoint a committee to resolve the issue.”
(See also the Telegraph.)
