Da Vinci's lost masterpiece may be hidden behind the walls of the palace

Leonardo da VinciUnfinished masterpiece "Battle of AnghiariFrom 1503 to 1505 in Florence'sPalazzo VecchioIt is said that it was the largest work of Da Vinci and it was supposed to be a masterpiece even with its artistic though it was completed when completed, then, from 1555 to 1572Giorgio VasariIt was lost by renovation by.

It is said that the lost masterpiece might be discovered by a professor who got a hint at a message hidden in a mural painting by Vasari. It is something like Dan Brown's novel or Harrison Ford's movie, but what exactly is it?

Details are as below.Italian palace fresco may hide Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece - Telegraph

Has Italian art professor cracked the code of missing da Vinci masterpiece? | Mail Online

Art historian of ItalyMaurizio SeraciniThe professor believes that "Battle of Anghiari" is hidden behind Vasari's 1563 fresco painting "The Battle of Marciano in the Chiana Valley". Investigation by radar and X-ray has revealed that there is already a cavity about 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep on the wall behind this wall painting, this 1 inch is used to protect mural paintings of Da Vinci It seems to be thought that it is a gap left by Vasari.

"Battle of Anghiari" was drawn in the large conference room of Vecchio palace, thought to be painted at the time of renovation, but it is not clear which wall on which position was drawn. Professor Seracini noticed a message hidden in the wall painting of Vasari over 30 years ago and thought that "battle of Anghiari" should have remained behind this, but by the advancement of technology it finally did not hurt the mural painting It became possible to conduct a detailed investigation into the cave, and it seems that we could find a cavity.

Vasari's "This Battle of Marciano in the Chiana Valley" which this is said to have been drawn on the mural painting of Da Vinci. There is a word which can be thought of as a message from Vasari to the warplane drawn in the part surrounded by red.


This is the expansion of that part. "Cerca Trova" seems to be a passage that appears in the Bible in the sense that "Find it, you will find it".


ProfessorNeutron beamIt seems to have received permission from Florence City to investigate whether there is a linseed oil-based paint that Da Vinci said is used at the back of the wall using a projector. The Palazzo Vecchio is currently being used as Florence City Hall, but a spokesman of Mayor of Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi said, "Vasari's mural paintings are themselves important work and legal issues will come up. At the moment we only want to reveal whether Leonardo's paintings are on the back of the wall or not, there is a possibility that nothing can be found, but it is true that Leonardo's work is really left It will be very important worldwide. "

"Although I came up with all the material for many years, Professor Seracioni did not find any words to suggest that the murals were destroyed, damaged, or moved to another place," he said. "It was considered to be his best masterpiece among contemporaries of Leonardo, it was a work that embodied the highest reach of the art of the early Renaissance."

"Battle of Anghiari" (part)RubensReproduction by (Louvre Museum)


When Rubens painted this replication in 1603, the original mural paintings had already been lost, which means that it was copied based on the 1588 print by Lorenzo Zacchia. Despite being lost in the era when there is no photograph, its appearance is conveyed by many copies, it also shows the high evaluation from contemporary artists of Da Vinci's work.

There are parts that seem to have referred to "battle of Anghiari" also in other mural painting by Vasari who carried out renovation of Vecchio palace. book"Painter · sculptor · architect Retsuden"It is certainly hard to imagine that Vasari, which is acclaiming" Battle of Anghiari ", fills it over, as it seems to fill it out.


This is a sketch for "Battle of Anghiari" by Da Vinci himself.


If 'Battle of Anghiari' is found, 'Last SupperYou might be able to find these soldiers in somewhere in a huge mural painting that is said to be three times as much as it is.


Also sketch of horse (1503 - 1504).


Da VinciMedici familyIn 1503 after expulsion, I received a request from the government of the Republic and began to draw "Battle of Anghiari" in the large conference room "500 people saloon" in the Ponte Vecchio (Government building in the Republic of Florence). The contract at that time is nothing elseNiccolò MachiavelliIt seems that it was the one signed. Also, at the same time that Da Vinci was working on murals, on the opposite wallMichelangeloBut"Battle of CascinaAlthough this was also incomplete because it was said that he was working on the project, Da Vinci and Michelangelo seem to be the only one who worked at the same time in the same place at the same time. Although unfinished, the two works are drawn under Michelangelo's "Battle of Cascina" in 1512 (Michelangelo in 1505Pope's tombI was called back to Rome to handle the painting, I canceled the mural painting where I started copying the underlying painting on the wall) but painter who was jealous of MichelangeloBartolommeo BandinelliI was raised in the same room until it was chopped by.

Da Vinci, who was struggled by the fresco in the "Last Supper", thought that he wanted to draw oil painting on the wall in "Battle of Anghiari" and worked on experimental methods. However, as a result of a trial and error trial and error with a thick undercoat mixed with wax, the paint dropped down and devised such as hanging a brazier near the picture in order to dry it quickly, but only the lower half of the painting could be saved, It is said that it was decided to give up this mural painting as it mixed up. After that, it is said that this drawing work was lost in 1555 to 1572 renovation which received the restoration of the Medici family.

The present state of the large conference room of the Palazzo Vecchio. I wonder if "Battle of Anghiari" is sleeping behind this mural painting on the right side ... ....

Photo by Bradley Grzesiak