“Forgotten Hollywood”- CSI Italy: Unearthing Mona Lisa…
Manny P. here…
An Italian research team is traveling to Florence to dig up the remains of a Renaissance woman who they believe posed for Leonardo da Vinci for the Mona Lisa portrait. This project aims to locate the remains of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a silk merchant. Art lovers have long linked Gherardini to the iconic painting.
Giorgio Vasari, a 16th-century biographer, wrote that da Vinci painted a portrait using Gharadini, who was born in 1479. A few years ago, an amateur Italian historian said he had found a death certificate showing that she died in 1542, with her burial spot specifically in central Florence.
The project follows a popular trend that uses CSI-like methods in art history, and has drawn (no pun intended) its share of criticism based on the inconclusive nature of the research. Some scholars have suggested that such scientific techniques add little when it comes to appreciating or understanding a work of art. If successful, the research might unveil targeted characteristics of Gherardini’s face matching those in the painting, answering whether she could be the actual model-in-question.
The first step… ground-penetration radar to search for the bones that are compatible with Gherardini’s. The group will also look for traces of possible diseases or bone structure to match what we know about Gherardini’s life. If such bones are identified, the researchers will conduct carbon dating and extract DNA, which will be compared to DNA extracted from the bones of Gherardini’s children, some of whom are also buried in Florence.
Finally, if skull fragments are found, depending on how well-preserved they are, the research group might attempt a facial reconstruction. This step will be crucial in determining whether Gherardini was indeed the subject with the famous smile for Leonardo da Vinci.
Bulletins as they break!
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 at 12:18 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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