More Secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci
In Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, the author refers to Da Vinci’s painting, The Adoration of the Magi, which may conceal a hidden message. This painting was “lost” for over 100 years after Da Vinci was commissioned by the friars of San Donato in Florence, Italy.
In the era of Leonardo Da Vinci, students apprenticed with a master artist such as Da Vinci or Michelangelo. Apprentices copied the work of the master, and–once they proved that they could mimic his style–they could finish work that he started.
To study The Adoration of the Magi, art expert Maurizio Seracini–the only nonfictional character in The Da Vinci Code–used ultrasound scans. He discovered that Da Vinci did the underdrawing, but the paint over Da Vinci’s work was applied by someone else.
Seracini commented, “Leonardo never meant the painting to look like this.” In fact, Seracini discovered a series of drawings, one layered over the next.
WHAT WAS COVERED
Preliminary studies show a bloody battle in Da Vinci’s original work, but only two horsemen from that scene–in the upper right corner of the painting–are still visible.
On Mary’s left, there is an odd building, usually described as a ruined palace. However, Seracini’s studies reveal a lotus flower design at the top of a column, indicating Egyptian architecture.
In addition, a tree grows out of the stonework, and craftsmen appear to be working on it. Seracini speculates that Da Vinci was showing a Pagan temple being rebuilt.
LITERALLY, A COVER-UP
According to Seracini’s studies, the later painting may have been applied as much as 50 years after Leonardo Da Vinci sketched it.
The big mystery is, of course, why?
Did Da Vinci have a specific reason to stop working on this painting? Was the cover-up a form of censorship?
There is evidence that Da Vinci expected someone to tamper with his original design. He took the unusual step of sealing his underdrawing.
It’s impossible to conclude anything until more studies–and perhaps more information–are uncovered.
MORE MYSTERIES
This was not Seracini’s first “mystery” connected with Da Vinci’s paintings.
In fact, one of his earliest commissions was from UCLA’s Da Vinci expert, Professor Carlo Pedretti. He asked Seracini to help find another painting started by Da Vinci, the Battle of Anghiari, known at the time as Fight for the Flag.
According to Da Vinci’s own notes, he began the painting in June 1505. A letter written in 1549 mentions the completed mural, with reference to the importance of studying the horses closely, to see a “miraculous thing.”
However, in the 1560s, the Medici family hired artist Giorgio Vasari (1511 - 1574)–one of Michelangelo’s students–to cover the Battle of Anghiari mural.
Vasari could have painted over the mural, but he probably didn’t. The project would have been enormous. The Anghiari mural is estimated to be about three times the size of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
Also, Vasari was an admirer of Da Vinci. Vasari once said about him, “Leonardo da Vinci was a man of regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind; and his name became so famous that not only was he esteemed during his lifetime, but his reputation endured and became even greater after his death.”
According to Seracini’s studies, a brick wall that Vasari erected over the eastern side of the building–where Da Vinci’s Battle of Anghiari mural was supposed to be–probably conceals the mural.
On that wall, Vasari placed his own mural, Battle of Marciano in the Chiana Valley. As a clue, Vasari placed the message, “Cerca Trova” or–in English–”Seek and you shall find,” in his mural. This five-century-old message is the only one of its kind in the painting.
As of late 2005, more studies are necessary before the Palazzo Vecchio museum will approve the temporary removal of the Vasari mural, to see what’s behind the wall.
It may reveal yet another clue to the mystery of Da Vinci’s messages, as described in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Fiona Broome is an artist, Celtic (and Grail) historian, and writer. She is best known as the lead researcher for Hollow Hill, the ghost website: http://www.HollowHill.com/