Table of contents:
Video: What is the secret of Leonardo da Vinci's lost masterpiece discovered under a fresco in Florence
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Would you believe that under the painting by Giorgio Vasari lies the most revered and now lost masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci? Why did Vasari remake the fresco of the genius of the Renaissance and what subjects did it hide? Archaeologists began examining the fresco at Palazzo Vecchio after an archaeologist discovered the words “cerca trova” hidden in the fresco - “seek and you will find”.
History of the Da Vinci fresco
In 1503, the Florentine statesman Piero Soderini commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint the painting "The Battle of Anghiari" for the hall of the Grand Council (Salon Five Hundred) of the Signoria Palace in Florence. The young Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the equally famous Battle of Cachin, which marked the victory of the Florentines over Pisa in 1364. Today this building - Palazzo Vecchio (Italian: Old Palace) - is one of the most famous buildings in the city, which currently serves as a town hall. The painting is dedicated to the 1440 victory in the battle on the Anghiari plain between Milan and the Italian League led by the Republic of Florence. The Florentines at that time emerged victorious from the conflict and restored papal power.
Da Vinci enthusiastically set to work on this order, using it as an opportunity to experiment with new mural techniques. Inspired by some of Pliny the Elder's work, Leonardo decided to paint a fresco using the encaustic technique, also known as hot wax painting. It uses heated beeswax with the addition of colored pigments. Unfortunately, the technique did not give the expected result: the heated wax could not be distributed evenly over the entire fresco, which caused the paint to peel off in places. As Vasari describes, the wax-based pigments could not withstand the heat, and the fresco began to melt so that Leonardo very quickly abandoned it and did not complete it.
As conceived by the artist, the fresco was to become his most ambitious work. In size (6, 6 by 17, 4 meters) it was three times larger than The Last Supper and included three continuous scenes: the beginning, middle and end of the battle. Leonardo carefully prepared for the creation of the mural, studied the description of the battle and outlined his plan in a note presented to the leadership of the Palazzo. The result surpassed all other Renaissance works.
It is not surprising that the masterpiece, although unfinished, was later called "a school for the whole world." However, a century later, Duke Cosimo I ordered the artist Giorgio Vasari to paint over da Vinci's painting. Is it true that Vasari redrawn this mural and created his own on it?
History of the Vasari fresco
After receiving Vasari's order, there is no reliable information about the future of the "Battle of Anghiari". Art historians knew it was supposed to be in the Palazzo Vecchio, but found nothing but copied sketches by Peter Paul Rubens.
In the middle of the 16th century, Giorgio Vasari, an admirer of da Vinci's work, completely remodeled the Hall, commissioned by Cosimo I, and painted six new frescoes on the east and west walls. He illustrated the Florentine victory at the Battle of Marciano, a very bloody battle in which Siena finally fell and Florence fell into the hands of the Medici family. In memory of the great battle that finally defeated Siena, Cosimo I ordered Bartolomeo Ammannati to build a temple on the site of the victory, and a marble column was erected in Florence in Piazza San Felice. Is it likely that Vasari made the decision to redraw Leonardo's masterpiece?
Find of 2012
Maurizio Seracini, an engineer and art diagnostician, professor at the University of San Diego and one of the world's leading experts in art diagnostics, began his search for the da Vinci fresco over 30 years ago. In the 1970s, Vasari Seracini saw the words "Cerca Trova" written in white paint on one of the green flags depicted on a mural. In other words: "Seek and you will find." The researcher reasonably decided that this was the key to unraveling the mystery of Leonardo's lost masterpiece. With permission from the authorities, Seracini conducted laser, thermal and radar scans of the hall to determine the likely location of the painting on the panel.
And in March 2012, Seracini discovered that Vasari's painting was in fact resting on a thin wall at a distance from the rest of the works in the gallery. The sensors detected a gap of 1 to 3 centimeters between the two walls, large enough to preserve the old mural. Making a small hole in Vasari's painting, Seracini discovered pigments behind this wall, which da Vinci used in his works. Yes, Vasari could not destroy the famous works of Leonardo, and that is why he built a thin wall over the original painting, and already covered this wall with his painting. It is known that Vasari did this when he received orders for the recording of frescoes by Giotto and Masaccio.
Vasari is an inventive painter who treated Leonardo da Vinci with reverence and respect, did not want to destroy his masterpieces. Surely he knew that historians would be looking for them centuries later. That is why he included in his paintings a vital key - "seek and you will find."
Recommended:
Than 59 ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, discovered and discovered recently, threaten the world
A year ago, everyone would have laughed at such superstitions. But 2020 taught the world to respect the most incredible stories - it is not known which of them will come to life next. It is not surprising that the discovery of fifty-nine ancient sarcophagi in Egypt raises so many questions, because these burials are not only found and recovered, but also disturbed, as once happened with the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
Because of what collapsed 6 of the most highly developed ancient civilizations: Secrets discovered by newly discovered artifacts
The history of the Ancient World is replete with evidence of the existence of ancient highly developed civilizations. Archaeologists managed to discover many unique artifacts that allowed them to discover most of the secrets of ancient peoples and cultures that lived on Earth many millennia ago. Unfortunately, merciless time indifferently erases the answers to some questions of scientists. But persistent researchers often find answers where they never expected to find them
The secret meanings of the masterpiece fresco "Maesta" by Simone Martini, who was called the most famous artist of all time
A disciple of the great founder of the Renaissance Giotto and favorite of Modigliani, Simone Martini embodied the Sienese artistic principles in his work, introduced many innovations in the art of painting, which became a guiding star for young masters, and also created a truly masterpiece fresco - "Maestu", about the true meanings of which art historians lead controversy today
Secrets of the fresco by Leonardo da Vinci "The Last Supper"
Leonardo da Vinci is the most mysterious and unexplored person of the past. Someone ascribes God's gift to him and canonize him as a saint, someone, on the contrary, considers him an atheist who sold his soul to the devil. But the genius of the great Italian is undeniable, because everything that the hand of the great painter and engineer ever touched was instantly filled with hidden meaning. Today we will talk about the famous work "The Last Supper" and the many secrets that it hides
10 legendary lost cities that modern scientists have discovered
It is not known whether it will ever be possible to find Atlantis, gone into the ocean depths, the golden streets of El Dorado and the coveted mountains of Shangri-La. After all, it is likely that these places are just fmyths. But there are such ancient cities and sights that were really lost in the mists of time, and today they have been found