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[Edmond Dantès]

'Proof' that long lost Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece lies behind Florence painting

A team of researchers has used miniature cameras and tiny endoscopic probes to peer behind an immense 16th century battle scene that adorns the walls of the Hall of the Five Hundred in Palazzo Vecchio, the historic seat of government in Florence.

The delicate operation – the culmination of a 35-year quest by an Italian scientist specialising in art mysteries – revealed traces of pigment in a cavity that has remained hidden for five centuries.

The probe discovered a unique signature of the Renaissance polymath – fragments of black pigment which exactly match the black paint that he used in his most famous work, the Mona Lisa.

More at the link.

Telegraph

Fascinating discovery in this ongoing saga.

 

[Dhx]

I encourage everyone to not only watch the video, but read the article. Masterful solution by Vasari to preserve the work of Da Vinci and that the speculation of a false wall is just being confirmed centuries later is the stuff of fiction, down to the purpoted clue in one of Vasari's war banners - Seek and you shall find.

 

[xbhaskarx]

Neat.

 

[Jasoneyu]

Pretty interesting,

Here is a link to the daily mail that has more pictures etc.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ce-hidden-Palazzo-Vecchio-wall-400-years.html

 

[Pagusas]

thats great, so now what? How do we get to the painting without destroying the one ontop of it?

 

[Amir0x]

i saw a special on the Smithsonian Channel about his search for this masterpiece, and it was fascinating even when it ended in failure. Now that they've got real hard evidence that it's here, it's even more impressive given the detective work that went into this.

 

[Phonomezer]

Very cool.

 

[SpacLock]

No way.

I hope they talk them into safely removing the Vasari and pulling out the Leonardo as suggested in the article.

 

[MYE]

Awesome.

 

[colt45joe]

Why is this vasari on top of the da vinci?

 

[AlexMogil]

Linked on the DailyMail site is a video of a girl who likes to drink gasoline. This story is to be featured on a TV show about addictions and previously featured a woman who was addicted to eating dirt.

It's a remarkable contrast.

 

[Sinatar]

Wow this is bad movie stuff, crazy awesome. Hope they recover it without destroying the mural.

 

[CFMOORE!]

Why is this vasari on top of the da vinci?

the article says he was commissioned to redesign the hall and it is rumored he preserved the da vinci by building a false wall over it to paint his fresco. read the article! it is really awesome.

makes me love stuff like this even more.

 

[RockAction]

i saw a special on the Smithsonian Channel about his search for this masterpiece, and it was fascinating even when it ended in failure. Now that they've got real hard evidence that it's here, it's even more impressive given the detective work that went into this.

i saw a similar documentary, or possibly the same, and was amazed, and hoped they would be able to uncover da vinci's piece

reubens pencil copy is fantastic and hopefully this, having been covered for so long might still be somewhat preserved

 

[deadbeef]

Wow, this is really interesting stuff! I wonder if Vasari ever thought the DaVinci would be uncovered. I wonder how many people knew about it - how did this information get lost in history? Fascinating!

 

[CFMOORE!]

Wow, this is really interesting stuff! I wonder if Vasari ever thought the DaVinci would be uncovered. I wonder how many people knew about it - how did this information get lost in history? Fascinating!

i liked the bit about vasari's message MAYBE being a hint towards the painting laying behind his own work. so neat if that was his true intention.

 

[ShinobiFist]

The DailyMail one is a lot more detail. Amazing find....Can't wait to see how this develops.

 

[Marvie_3]

That's pretty fuckin cool.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Assassin's Creed 3 viral marketing campaign is a go.

 

[bodyboarder]

That's pretty awesome.