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Lost Leonardo Da Vinci Mural

March 13, 2012 by · Comments Off on Lost Leonardo Da Vinci Mural 

Lost Leonardo Da Vinci Mural, A lost mural by Leonardo da Vinci is believed to have been discovered on a hidden wall behind a 16th century fresco in Florence. The discovery comes after traces were collected using tiny probes inserted into a wall covering the original surface in a lavish hall in the Palazzo Vecchio, one of the city’s most famous buildings.

Researchers found an air gap of around 3cm (1.2in) in some places between the old wall and the new wall built in front of it on which artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari had painted The Battle of Marciano.

The composition of manganese and iron found in the black pigment has been identified exclusively on Leonardo’s paintings.

Professor Maurizio Seracini

The hidden mural contained a black pigment used in Da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa painting.

The probes also discovered red lacquer and brown pigment on the hidden wall which, researchers said, indicated the wall had a fresco painted on it.

The research is the result of a decades-long quest using cutting-edge technology by University of California San Diego professor Maurizio Seracini, who was featured in Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code.

The professor was inspired by the word’s “Cerca, trova” (“seek and you shall find”), which were painted on a tiny flag in Vasari’s painting depicting a different battle.

The Mona Lisa is probably Da Vinci’s most famous painting

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