Leonardo's La Bella Principessa?

From LiveScience.com:

Christie's auction house may have sold a priceless piece of art by Leonardo da Vinci for a little more than $21,000, according to researchers who claim to have identified the origins of the hotly debated painting.

The painting appears to have come from a 500-year-old book containing the family history of the Duke of Milan. Art historian Martin Kemp, of the University of Oxford, believes the mystery painting, which appeared in 1998, is a portrait of the duke's daughter, created by da Vinci for her wedding book.

"We knew it came from a book, you have the stitch holes and can see the knife cut. Finding it is a miracle in a way. I was amazed," Kemp told LiveScience. "When doing historical research on 500-year-old objects … you hardly get the circle completed in this way."

In 2010, Kemp first suggested that da Vinci painted the portrait, and since then, art historians have debated over both its origin and the painter. In fact, several art historians contacted by LiveScience said they wouldn't comment on the piece or didn't return emails. An earlier examination of the artwork by a gallery in Vienna led the director there to say it was not a da Vinci, and they are unswayed by the new evidence.

From storage to source

The portrait was sent to Christie's in 1998, with art historians there suggesting the piece came from 19th-century German artists called the Nazarenes, who mimicked the Renaissance style. (This was disproved after carbon dating estimated the portrait's creation between 1440 and 1650.) It was titled "Head of a Young Girl in Profile to the Left in Renaissance Dress."

Kemp wasn't convinced and started looking into the painting's history. He first saw the portrait as an attachment to an email in 2008, and immediately recognized da Vinci's left-handed style. He went to see it in Zurich and his co-author, Pascal Cotte, engineer and founder of art analysis start-up Lumiere Technology, examined it in Paris.

Kemp and Cotte then published "La Bella Principessa: The Story of the New Masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci," (Hodder Hb, 2010) claiming the work might be a da Vinci, a claim that many respected historians have disagreed with, some vehemently.

The portrait is made on vellum, a specially prepared skin normally used for writing and printing. No work by da Vinci has been found on vellum before, though it was frequently used in books. Researchers believe the portrait came from a book, because three stitch holes are visible on the portrait's left margin. It is also made of chalks and ink, not paint.

A wedding gift

"The chance of identifying the vellum book it came from was pretty small, a needle in the haystack, one would say," Kemp told LiveScience. That was, until American art historian D. R. Edward Wright of the University of South Florida, suggested that Kemp look at a set of books titled the "Sforziad."

There were at most four copies made, Kemp said. Aside from the copy in the National Library in Warsaw, there is a copy in London and one in Paris. Each book was custom-made and had different art and cover pages; evidence that this portrait had been "ripped" out was only found in the Warsaw book. The image was probably removed during the 18th century when the book was rebound, Kemp said.

Da Vinci was an artist in the duke's residence for several years between 1481 and 1499. He was the only left-handed artist in the court at that time, the researchers said.

Matching page to book

Upon examination, Kemp saw that the stitch holes from the page match up with the stitching on the book, but they aren't the only evidence Kemp puts forward. Because vellum is made from processed skins, each sheet has different qualities. The thickness and composition of this sheet matches up perfectly with the vellum from the book, Kemp said. There are also cut marks on the edge of the book.

"It was apparent from the evidence we got about the vellum and the missing sheets, within reasonable margins of doubt, that's where it comes from," Kemp said. "At 500 years old, you never have as much confirmation as you like, but this is as good as it gets."

Kemp and Cotte have published a short version of their examination of the book and the portrait's cut marks and binding, along with their analysis of the vellum online. The painting has been renamed "La Bella Principessa," though its true origins are still debated...

'Lost' Da Vinci Portrait, and its Origins, Stir Controversy
Jennifer Wels
14 October 2011
http://www.livescience.com/16549-lost-davinci-portrait.html

The real-life Da Vinci Code

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337976/Real-life-Da-Vinci-Code-Tiny-numbers-letters-discovered-Mona-Lisa.html

The real-life Da Vinci Code: Historians discover tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa
Nick Pisa and Luke Salkeld
13th December 2010

Intrigue is usually focused on her enigmatic smile.

But the Mona Lisa was at the centre of a new mystery yesterday after art detectives took a fresh look at the masterpiece – and noticed something in her eyes.

Hidden in the dark paint of her pupils are tiny letters and numbers, placed there by the artist Leonardo da Vinci and revealed only now thanks to high-­magnification techniques.

Experts say the barely distinguishable letters and numbers represent something of a real-life Da Vinci code.

The revelation could have come straight from the pages of Dan Brown’s best-seller The Da Vinci Code, in which the Mona Lisa is said to contain hidden clues about the Holy Grail.

Silvano Vinceti, president of Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage, which spotted the symbols, said: ‘To the naked eye the symbols are not visible but with a magnifying glass they can clearly be seen

‘In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name, Leonardo da Vinci, while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined.

‘It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE, or it could be the letter B.

‘In the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen or it could be an L and the number 2.

‘You have to remember the ­picture is almost 500 years old so it is not as sharp and clear as when first painted.

‘From the preliminary investigations we have carried out we are confident they are not a mistake and were put there by the artist.’

The search was initiated by another Dan Brown-style plot device after a fellow committee member discovered a musty book in an antique shop ­referring to symbols in the Mona Lisa’s eyes.

Mr Vinceti added: ‘Da Vinci put a special emphasis on the Mona Lisa and we know that in the last years of his life he took the painting with him everywhere.

'We also know that da Vinci was very esoteric and used symbols in his work to give out messages.

‘Who knows, they may even ­possibly be a love message to the ­figure in the painting.’

Mr Vinceti is a member of a group which is seeking permission to exhume da Vinci’s remains from his tomb at Amboise Castle in France’s Loire Valley.

They want to see if the artist’s skull is there so that they can try and recreate his face and establish if the Mona Lisa – owned by the French government and on display in The Louvre – is in fact a twist on a self-portrait of the artist as some believe.

Human-powered aircraft makes aviation history

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1314509/Human-powered-aircraft-makes-aviation-history-fly-using-flapping-wings.html

Human-powered aircraft makes aviation history by becoming the first to fly using flapping wings
Niall Firth
23rd September 2010

It has been the dream of engineers and eccentric inventors for centuries.

And ever since Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first human-powered ornithopter in 1485, humans have tried to take to the air like birds by flapping their wings.

But now a human-powered aircraft has made aviation history by becoming the first with flapping wings to fly continuously.

The 'Snowbird' performed its record-breaking flight at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Ontario in Canada in August.

Todd Reichert, an Engineering PhD candidate at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), flew the wing-flapping device and sustained both altitude and airspeed for 19.3 seconds, covering a distance of 145 metres at an average speed of 25.6 kilometres per hour.

He flew the Snowbird by pedaling with his legs. Pulleys and ropes attached to the wings pulled down when he pedaled forward.

‘The Snowbird represents the completion of an age-old aeronautical dream,' says lead developer and project manager Reichert.

‘Throughout history, countless men and women have dreamt of flying like a bird under their own power, and hundreds, if not thousands have attempted to achieve it. This represents one of the last of the aviation firsts.’

The Snowbird weighs just 94 lbs and has a wing span of 105 feet. Although its wingspan is comparable to that of a Boeing 737, the Snowbird weighs less than all of the pillows on board.

Pilot Reichert lost 18 lbs of body weight over the summer to facilitate flying the aircraft.

The feat was witnessed by the vice-president of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records.

The official record claim was filed this month, and the FAI is expected to confirm the ornithopter's world record at its meeting in October.

Reichert said: 'The use of human power, when walking or cycling, is an efficient, reliable, healthy and sustainable form of transportation.

‘Though the aircraft is not a practical method of transport, it is also meant to act as an inspiration to others to use the strength of their body and the creativity of their mind to follow their dreams.'

Behind the smile

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6976971.ece

The Times
January 6, 2010
Behind the smile Mona Lisa may have been suffering from high cholesterol
In Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa there is said to be clear evidence around the left eye socket of xanthelasma, a yellowish collection of fatty acids underneath the skin, suggesting high levels of cholesterol. There also evidence on the hands of subcutaneous lipomas, benign tumors composed of fatty tissue.
Richard Owen in Rome

Is she enjoying a private joke? Is she sneaking a sly glance at an unseen lover? Or is the glint in the Mona Lisa’s eye in fact the result of a build-up of fatty acids around her eye socket, a sure sign that she wasn’t watching her cholesterol?

An Italian medical expert says he has found evidence of a range of afflictions in some of the world’s greatest works of art. Vito Franco, Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Palermo, claims that there are clear signs of diseases, from bone malformations to kidney stones, that cast certain icons of perfection in a very different light.

Professor Franco, who presented his findings at a European congress on human pathology in Florence, told The Times that he had begun studying art masterpieces for evidence of disease and illness two years ago.

“I look at art with a different eye from an art expert, much as a mathematician listens to music in a different way from a music critic,” he said. He added that he had analysed about 100 art works, from Egyptian sculpture to contemporary paintings but his focus, he told La Stampa, was on Old Masters. He found that not only aristocrats but also Madonnas, angels and mythical heroes — or at least the sitters — revealed telltale signs of illness.

In Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (The Maids of Honour), at the Prado in Madrid, the five-year-old Infanta Margarita depicted with her attendants at the court of Philip IV appears to be a victim of Albright syndrome, “a genetic illness involving precocious puberty, low stature, bone disease and hormonal problems”.

The “almost feminine” elegance of the young nobleman in a red velvet hat and wearing a gold medal in Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Young Man at the National Gallery in Washington was due to his unnaturally long, thin fingers — a sign of arachnodactyly, or “spider fingers”. This condition is linked to Marfan syndrome, a genetic defect apparently visible in Parmigianino’s long-necked Madonna, at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Sufferers from Marfan syndrome, first identified by the French physician Bernard Marfan in 1896, tend to be unusually tall and thin with disproportionately long limbs.

Another famous Virgin Mary, the Madonna del Parto by Piero della Francesca, has a goitre, or swelling of the thyroid gland, on her neck “typical of people who drank water from a well in certain areas” in medieval times. This produced a deficiency of iodine, which caused changes in the thyroid.

Michelangelo’s own ailment, which Professor Franco diagnoses as kidney stones — is shown in Raphael’s School of Athens where he appears with strangely swollen and knobbly knees. Michelangelo complained of kidney and bladder problems in his letters and may have suffered from gout.

Dan Brown's conspiracy theories

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6198574/The-Last-Symbol-author-Dan-Browns-conspiracy-theories-six-of-the-best.html

The Last Symbol author Dan Brown's conspiracy theories: six of the best
Dan Brown’s novels The Lost Symbol, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are filled with conspiracy. But how much of it is based on fact?
By Tom Chivers
16 Sep 2009

The Lost Symbol, the new book by Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons author Dan Brown, takes us once again into a world of shadowy cabals, hidden messages and secret conspiracies.

They are works of fiction, but Brown tells us they are based on fact: "All organisations in this novel exist,” says a foreword to The Last Symbol, "including the Freemasons, the Invisible College, the Office of Security, the SMSC, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences”. Similarly, at the beginning of The Da Vinci Code, we learn that The Priory of Sion is a real secret society founded in 1099.

Da Vinci Code sequel criticised by Catholics But how much of Brown's work is fact, and how much is fiction? We take a look at six of his most prominent claims and see how closely they fit reality.

The Freemasons (from The Lost Symbol, 2009)

What Brown says

A secret society, the Freemasons, secretly run America, and the Founding Fathers have concealed a secret portal under Washington where the terrifying Secrets of the Universe are hidden.

In reality:

Rumours that Freemasons control society are widespread. They often overlap with conspiracy theories about the New World Order and the Illuminati.

Apparent Masonic symbols do appear regularly in American culture – most notably the pyramid and eye on the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the dollar bill and is said to be the Eye of Providence. Furthermore, at least one member of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was a Mason.

However, the Eye of Providence was not commonly used as a Masonic symbol until 1797, some years after the Great Seal was designed.

1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington (from The Lost Symbol, 2009)

What Brown says:

Known as the House of the Temple, this Washington building is a replica of a pre-Christian temple to King Mausolus, and the world headquarters of Freemasonry

In reality:

Designed by John Russell Pope and finished in 1915, the House of the Temple is indeed a model of the Mausoleum of Mausolos. It holds the remains of the Confederate general Albert Pike, author of the 1871 book Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It is home to the Supreme Council of Freemasonry.

The Priory of Sion (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

An brotherhood founded in 1099, whose members have included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci, and who are the only ones who know that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and has a surviving heir. Mary Magdalene and her descendents are the real Holy Grail.

In reality:

The Priory of Sion was indeed said to be a monastic order formed in 1099. In 1982 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln's book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail set forth the claim that it protected the knowledge of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. However, the existence of the Priory is now believed to be a hoax created in the 1950s by a Frenchman named Pierre Plantard.

Opus Dei (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

A Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect that plots to find the Priory's secret and kill the heir/Grail. They carry out a practice of self-flagellation called "corporal mortification". A major villain in the book is the Opus Dei monk Silas, who murders a Priory member.

In reality:

Opus Dei is a real Catholic organisation; the Labour Minister Ruth Kelly is one of its estimated 87,000 members worldwide. But none of those members are monks.

There is no evidence that it hopes to find the Holy Grail in any form. Its stated goal (on its website, www.opusdei.us) is "to spread the message that work and the circumstances of everyday life are occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others, and for improving society."

Rosslyn Chapel (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh, was built by the Knights Templar as a perfect copy of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, complete with a subterranean vault which holds the secret of the Holy Grail. A message written in secret code on its ceiling reveals the entrance to the vault.

In reality:

While the Chapel was built 150 years after the dissolution of the Knights Templar, it does have some Templar and Masonic symbols. Links with the Knights and the alleged bloodline of Jesus and the Priory of Sion were put forward by the historian Andrew Sinclair. However, the Priory has now been shown to be a mid-20th century hoax.

The Illuminati (from Angels and Demons, 2000)

What Brown says:

A shadowy secret society sworn to bring down the Catholic Church in revenge for their crimes against scientists like Copernicus, "murdered by the church for revealing scientific truths," and Galileo, convicted of heresy for claiming the Earth moved around the Sun. The Illuminati are described as"a secret society dedicated to scientific truth" and "the most powerful underground organisation ever to walk the earth".

In reality:

The Illuminati were a real organisation. They were founded in 1776 in Bavaria, sworn to ideals of free-thinking and rationalism.

Nicolaus Copernicus was never attacked by the Church. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres was dedicated to Pope Paul III, and the Church used his theories in their revising of the calendar. He died of a stroke in 1543 at the age of 70; there is no reason to believe that he was murdered.

Galileo Galilei certainly was mistreated – he was subjected to lifelong house arrest following the publication of his 1633 work Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which argued that the Earth moved round the Sun, although he was only suspected of heresy, never convicted. He died in 1642. The Bavarian Illuminati were dissolved in 1785, although various other groups have used their name since.

Drawings discovered on Da Vinci masterpiece

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article5365300.ece

December 18, 2008
Three near-invisible drawings discovered on back of Da Vinci masterpiece
Adam Sage in Paris

The French art world is in a frenzy of speculation today after the strange discovery of three almost invisible drawings on the back of a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre museum.

The mysterious sketches, which were found when the painting, Virgin and Child With Saint Anne, was taken down for experts to determine whether it could be restored, may be by the Renaissance artist himself, according to the museum in Paris.

Although the discovery is reminiscent of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, art experts said that the drawings would not have contained a hidden message from the painter.

They say that Da Vinci sketched out his ideas on whatever came to hand, and might have used the planks of poplar wood that formed the backing for the work, which dates from the 1500s.

If he were confirmed as the author, the drawings could help to give an exact date to the work, which is often considered as his artistic testament.

They were detected in September after Sylvain Laveissière, a curator at the Louvre, noticed that some of the grey marks behind Virgin and Child With Saint Anne resembled a horse's head.

A photograph with an infrared camera in the Louvre's laboratory confirmed his suspicion and found two other sketches invisible to the naked human eye next to the horse's head.

These were of a human skull and of the infant Jesus with a Lamb — a drawing reminiscent of the celebrated painting on the other side of the popular boards.

"They were not meant to be kept," said Bruno Mottin, a specialist at the Louvre's art laboratory. "They had been largely wiped out, which explains why no one had notived them until now."

The Louvre said in a statement: "This is an exceptional discovery as sketches on backs of works are very rare and there is no known example of one from Leonardo to this day."

Swiss jumps using da Vinci-designed parachute

And for more on Leonardo...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080426/od_afp/switzerlandparachuteoffbeathistory_080426202937

Swiss jumps using Leonardo da Vinci-designed parachute
Sat Apr 26, 2008

A 36-year-old Swiss amateur parachutist made a successful 650-metre (2,130-foot) drop Saturday using a replica of a parachute designed more than 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci.

"I came down... smack in the middle of the tarmac at Payerne military airport," said Olivier Vietti-Teppa. "A perfect jump."

Vietti-Teppa is the first person to have made it safely to the ground with the Leonardo model.

In 2000, Britain's Adrian Nicholas tried it but had to pull the ripcord on a modern backup parachute to complete his descent safely.

Vietti-Teppa jumped from a hovering helicopter and the Leonardo parachute opened at 600 metres, he reported.

The parachute he used was made using modern fabric along lines designed by the Renaissance genius. The specifications were found in a text dating from 1485.

The parachute consists of four equilateral triangles, seven metres on each side, made of parachute fabric, Vietti-Teppa explained.

The base of the pyramid is a square of mosquito net, which enables the parachute to open. A wooden frame originally conceived by da Vinci was not used on the model in action on Saturday.

One drawback: it is impossible to manoeuvre or steer the Leonardo parachute. "You come down at the whim of the wind," said Vietti-Teppa, who carried out advance tests using a scale dummy model launched from a remote-controlled model helicopter.

Leonardo da Vinci's Sangreal

http://realmoftwelve.kryptos.info/about/grail.html

Dan Brown details the idea that Leonardo's painting in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan is not that of the obvious twelve disciples of Christ. The chalice from which Jesus says, "This is my blood," seems to be missing altogether. Conspiracy theorists are convinced that the chalice isn't a literal cup but is the bloodline of Mary Magdalene. Sangreal, the term from which Holy Grail is derived, has been interpreted San Greal; holy grail. However, some suggest Sangreal should be divided into the words Sang and Real meaning Royal Blood.

The actual biblical event should show John, a child in contrast to the elder disciples, leaning on the breast of Christ, which was John's most significant event in the story. Variations of the traditionally held view of Christ's last supper are considered heretical as some of the Gnostic Gospels are portrayed in stark contrast to the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

I am willing to bet Leonardo da Vinci made it known that he hid the chalice somewhere in the painting when questioned as to why one of the most significant aspects of the story is completely missing. To his confidants the painting shows a woman. Many other anomalies appear in The Last Supper, but should word get back to Vatican in his day, Da Vinci had a back-up explanation of where the chalice is hidden.

One of the disciples is making the John Gesture as if referencing Saint John the Baptist who was imprisoned and beheaded, not to be confused with the John depicted in the painting. I've always wondered why the upward-pointed index finger was a sign for John and didn't know it when I assumed that this particular disciple is pointing at the ceiling.

Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought.
- Albert Szent-Gyorgi (biochemist 1893-1986)

My first thought was that Leonardo wanted us to recognize his understanding and details of depth perception. The ceiling has a pattern that reflects the depth and realism of the painting. I began to realize the effort made to portray depth, noticing even the asymmetrical banners or niches in the walls, but something didn't seem quite right as I analyzed the picture as a whole. My eyes were drawn to a symbol on one of the supposed banners that seemed to not fit with the flow of depth.

I drew the symbol on scrap paper over and over again, turning it upside down and using different shading techniques. The symbol appeared to be a filled semicircle with the flat side opposite a solid rectangle. I wasn't sure what it was, but I was convinced Leonardo put it there, like everything else, for a specific reason. He was too good with details to put a seemingly symbolic reference in his painting for nothing. I researched the symbol with no results.

The boundaries of bodies are the least of all things. The proposition is proved to be true, because the boundary of a thing is a surface, which is not part of the body contained within that surface; nor is it part of the air surrounding that body, but is the medium interposted between the air and the body, as is proved in its place. But the lateral boundaries of these bodies is the line forming the boundary of the surface, which line is of invisible thickness. Wherefore O painter! do not surround your bodies with lines, and above all when representing objects smaller than nature; for not only will their external outlines become indistinct, but their parts will be invisible from distance.
- Leonardo da Vinci

The following day I reviewed The Last Supper and almost immediately noticed something resting on the head of St. Bartholomew, the disciple at the extreme left. I was astonished to find that the symbol on the banner, not following the depth-perception of the painting, was nothing other than a giant chalice. To this day, I can not see this painting without the Holy Grail staring out as if it is the only thing meant to be seen.

It is interesting that St. Bartholomew makes reference to Mary Magdalene in a Gnostic Gospel attributed to his authorship. Although I do not fully agree with the gnostic version of the story, perhaps Leonardo was saying that the history of the sangreal rests on Saint Bartholomew. If you look at the post-restoration painting from now on, you will see nothing but the Holy Grail. Remember where you heard it first: Realm of Twelve .net.

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.
- Leonardo da Vinci

What are people saying about this discovery?

"You'll have to check out his highly intriguing page to see it for yourself. All I can say is that I... like his idea a whole lot more than the 'negative space = uterus = Chalice' business." - Excerpt from review in About.com Art History

"I gratefully credit Gary Phillips II with the original insight that this symbol in Da Vinci's The Last Supper probably represents the Holy Grail, and agree completely with his observation that once you notice the Grail staring back at you from Da Vinci's masterpiece, it jumps right out at you every time you see the painting. You cannot not see it there. That little ‘ah-ha' moment, that slight shift into greater awareness and consciousness, was at the very heart of Original Christianity. We increase in knowledge, integrity, and perfection through the smallest of steps, inching back closer and closer to ourselves and our Creator with every healthy choice we make. Recognizing the Grail hidden within in Da Vinci's painting is a perfect example of this sort of shift in perspective, and the increase in knowledge, or gnosis, that was once so central to the Christian faith" - Excerpt from acclaimed author of the groundbreaking books The Division of Consciousness and The Lost Secret of Death: Peter Novak's web site, DivisionTheory.com

"If you've some how missed the discovery of the hidden image of THE HOLY GRAIL by GARY PHILLIPS... I encourage an immediate visit to his web site. He has some excellent graphics and while you're there take time to wander through his entire site. This is an extremely intelligent young man. His research into encryptions is of specific interest to me. With all the hidden images, numbers, letters, etc., found within LEONARDO DA VINCI'S works of art, I've openly admitted I'm at a loss as to their possible meaning. I'm well aware it will require the knowledge of someone like GARY PHILLIPS to unravel the possible meaning that perhaps da Vinci was counting on to make sense of all this. I'm hoping Mr. Phillips will continue to publish additional discoveries." - Excerpt from Leonardo researcher Vladimir's web site N 2 da Vinci and Beyond

"It may seem a bit farfetched that after centuries someone discovered a detail in the Last Supper that no one had ever seen before, but as far as I can tell, that's the case." - Excerpt from Holy Grail Found in Da Vinci's Last Supper: www.MuseumOfHoaxes.com describes the discovery as legitimate.

"The Professor gasped. He immediately dialed Getit's cellular phone. 'Getit, you aren't going to believe this. I can see the Chalice clearly in the Last Supper. Just look at the space above the head of St. Bartholomew, the disciple left most. There is the Chalice, so visible and yet so invisible.'" - Excerpt from The Da Vinci Dagger by Prastil: www.daVinciDagger.com describes the dagger in the painting as an ancient graille.

"Fortunately for you, this website will show you the Chalice. Once you see it, you will always see it... I thank Gary Phillips II for sharing his discovery of the Da Vinci Chalice." - Excerpt from www.daVinciChalice.com

"Discover the secrets of Leonardo da Vinci's work with this great source." - Excerpt from The Solomon Key - online news source

Leonardo's "Last Supper" Goes HiDef Online

Leonardo's "Last Supper" Goes HiDef Online
MILAN, Italy, Oct. 27, 2007

(AP) Can't get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper?"

As of Saturday, all you need is an Internet connection. Officials put online an image of the "Last Supper" at 16 billion pixels - 1,600 times stronger than the images taken with the typical 10 million pixel digital camera.

The high resolution will allow experts to examine details of the 15th century wall painting that they otherwise could not - including traces of drawings Leonardo put down before painting.

The high-resolution allows viewers to look at details as though they were inches from the art work, in contrast to regular photographs, which become grainy as you zoom in, said curator Alberto Artioli.

"You can see how Leonardo made the cups transparent, something you can't ordinarily see," said Artioli. "You can also note the state of degradation the painting is in."

Besides allowing experts and art-lovers to study the masterpiece from home, Artioli said the project provides an historical document of how the painting appears in 2007, which will be valuable to future generations of art historians.

The work, in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was restored in a painstaking effort that wrapped up in 1999 - a project aimed at reversing half a millennium of damage to the famed artwork. Leonard painted the "Last Supper" dry, so the painting did not cleave to the surface in the fresco style, meaning it is more delicate and subject to wear.

"Over the years it has been subjected to bombardments; it was used as a stall by Napoleon," Artioli said. The restoration removed 500 years of dirt while also removing previous restoration works that masked Leonardo's own work.

Even those who get to Milan have a hard time gaining admission to see the "Last Supper." Visits have been made more difficult by measures to protect it. Twenty-five visitors are admitted every 15 minutes to see the painting for a total of about 320,000 visitors a year. Visitors must pass through a filtration system to help reduce the work's exposure to dust and pollutants.

"The demand is three of four times higher, but we can't accommodate it because of efforts to preserve the painting," Artioli said.

On the Web: http://www.haltadefinizione.com/

By Associated Press Writer Colleen Barry

25 Secrets of Mona Lisa Revealed

http://www.livescience.com/history/071018-mona-lisa.html

25 Secrets of Mona Lisa Revealed
By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Staff Writer
18 October 2007

New images uncover 25 secrets about the Mona Lisa, including proof that Leonardo da Vinci gave her eyebrows, solving a long-held mystery.

The images are part of an exhibition, "Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed," which features new research by French engineer Pascal Cotte and debuts in the United States at the Metreon Center in San Francisco, where it will remain through the end of this year. The Mona Lisa showcase is part of a larger exhibition called "Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius."

Cotte, founder of Lumiere Technology, scanned the painting with a 240-megapixel Multi-spectral Imaging Camera he invented, which uses 13 wavelengths from ultraviolet light to infrared. The resulting images peel away centuries of varnish and other alterations, shedding light on how the artist brought the painted figure to life and how she appeared to da Vinci and his contemporaries.

"The face of Mona Lisa appears slightly wider and the smile is different and the eyes are different," Cotte said. "The smile is more accentuated I would say."

Mona Lisa mysteries

A zoomed-in image of Mona Lisa's left eye revealed a single brush stroke in the eyebrow region, Cotte said.

"I am an engineer and scientist, so for me all has to be logical. It was not logical that Mona Lisa does not have any eyebrows or eyelashes," Cotte told LiveScience. "I discovered one hair of the eyebrow."

Another conundrum had been the position of the subject's right arm, which lies across her stomach. This was the first time, Cotte said, that a painter had rendered a subject's arm and wrist in such a position. While other artists had never understood da Vinci's reasoning, they copied it nonetheless.

Cotte discovered the pigment just behind the right wrist matched up perfectly with that of the painted cover that drapes across Mona Lisa's knee. So it did make sense: The forearm and wrist held up one side of a blanket.

"The wrist of the right hand is up high on the stomach. But if you look deeply in the infrared you understand that she holds a cover with her wrist," Cotte said.

Behind a painting

The infrared images also revealed da Vinci's preparatory drawings that lie behind layers of varnish and paint, showing that the Renaissance man was also human.

"If you look at the left hand you see the first position of the finger, and he changed his mind for another position," Cotte said. "Even Leonardo da Vinci had hesitation."

Other revelations include:

Lace on Mona Lisa's dress

The transparency of the veil shows da Vinci first painted a landscape and then used transparency techniques to paint the veil atop it.

A change in the position of the left index and middle finger.

The elbow was repaired from damage due to a rock thrown at the painting in 1956.

The blanket covering Mona Lisa's knees also covers her stomach.

The left finger was not completely finished.

A blotch mark on the corner of the eye and chin are varnish accidents, countering claims that Mona Lisa was sick.

And the Mona Lisa was painted on uncut poplar board, contrary to speculations.

In the larger picture, Cotte said when he stands back and looks up at the enlarged infrared image of Mona Lisa, her beauty and mystique are apparent.

"If you are in front of this huge enlargement of Mona Lisa, you understand instantly why Mona Lisa is so famous," Cotte said. He added, it's something you have to see with your own eyes.