Leonardo da Vinci Picture Revealed By Fingerprint

by amyellensoden | October 12, 2009 at 03:21 pm

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Peter Silverman, a Canadian-born art collector may now be in possession of an original drawing by Leonardo da Vinci of Bianca Maria Sforza. After purchasing what he believed to be an ordinary drawing back in 2007, Silverman decided to have it looked at out of curiosity that there may be something more to the picture.

Kemp said he thought the portrait, which measures 33cm x 22cm (13in x 9in), must date from around 1496 when, aged 13 or 14, the Bella Principessa married the Duke's army captain, Galeazzo Sanseverino, a patron of Leonardo's. She died four months after the wedding.

The painting, titled Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress, recently sold for a mere £12,000 ($19,000). It was billed at a Christie's sale in 1998 as "German, early 19th century".

Research in a Paris laboratory lead to the discovery of a fingerprint in the top left corner of the picture. The fingerprint was said to be remarkably similar to one found on da Vinci's "St. Jerome."

The infrared analysis also showed "significant" stylistic parallels with those in da Vinci's Portrait of a Woman in Profile in Windsor Castle.

The ink and chalk drawing was also made by a left-handed artist – as da Vinci was – while carbon dating was consistent with the Milanese fashion the girl was dressed in, from the late 15th century.

If the portrait is verified as a da Vinci original, it could be worth millions of pounds. It is set to be displayed at an exhibition in Sweden by 2011.

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