Pesquisadores em Florença podem ter encontrado obra perdida de Leonardo da Vinci

Peritos realizam pesquisas em uma parede no Palazzo Vecchio de Florença. A descoberta de tinta preta semelhante ao utilizado na Mona Lisa tem estimulado uma nova esperança

Pesquisadores podem ter descoberto vestígios de uma obra do mestre renascentista Leonardo da Vinci que foi perdida há cinco séculos e que talvez ainda exista por trás de uma parede de um dos edifícios mais famosos de Florença. O responsável pela descoberta é um projeto de alta tecnologia que usa minúsculas sondas de vídeo.

O projeto para encontrar o que ficou conhecido como o "Leonardo Perdido" é polêmico, em parte porque os pesquisadores tiveram de abrir diversos orifícios em uma obra existente e porque nem todos concordam que o afresco de Leonardo ainda esteja ali. Uma análise mostrou que a tinta vermelha, preto e bege encontrado é consistente com a tinta orgânica que Leonardo usava em suas pinturas. Mas a pintura poderia também ter sido usadas pelos contemporâneos de Leonardo em Florença, que está inundado de arte renascentista.

Os pesquisadores usaram minúsculas sondas, como as usadas por médicos nas endoscopias, e outras ferramentas de alta tecnologia, e as inseriram nas fendas existentes na parede externa que segura o afresco de Vasari e pegaram mostras de substâncias.

Researchers in Florence may have discovered lost mural by Leonardo da Vinci a detail of a wall in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. The discovery of black paint similar to that used in the Mona Lisa has spurred fresh hope that Leonardo da Vinci's lost fresco The Battle of Anghiari may be hidden behind the wall.

The fresco is believed to have been hidden by painter and art historian Giorgio Vasari when he was commissioned to do another fresco in Florence's municipal headquarters. 'Together with art historians and scientists combining historical evidence and technology, this research team has unlocked a mystery that has been with us for more than 500 years,' said Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the US National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research. EPA/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. By: Annalisa Camillia, Associated Press Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press FLORENCE (AP).- Researchers may have discovered traces of a lost mural by Leonardo da vinci by poking a probe through cracks in a 16th-century fresco painted on the wall of one of Florence's most famous buildings. The latest findings Monday still leave much mystery in the hunt for the "Battle of Anghiari," a wall mural painted by Leonardo in Florence's storied Palazzo Vecchio, and possibly hidden behind a fresco done by Giorgio Vasari decades later. The hunt for the unfinished mural has captivated art historians for centuries, and took on fresh impetus in the last years with the employment of state-of-art scientific tools. Some believe Leonardo's mural, which he began in 1505 to commemorate the 15th-century victory by Florence over Milan at the medieval Tuscan town of Anghiari, may be hidden behind a newer wall, which was frescoed over decades later by Giorgio Vasari. Leonardo's "Battle of Anghiari" was unfinished when Leonardo left Florence in 1506. Maurizio Seracini, an Italian engineer from the University of California, San Diego, told reporters that the fragments of color retrieved by the probe in the palace's Hall of the 1500s are consistent with pigments used by Leonardo. He said an analysis showed that the red, black and beige paint found is consistent with the organic paint Leonardo used on his frescoes. But the paint could also have been used by Leonardo's contemporaries in Florence, which is awash in Renaissance art. Seracini called the results "encouraging" but preliminary. To find samples of pigment of the wall behind a space previously discovered under the Vasari, work, experts slipped probes through areas where paint on the outer wall's fresco was either cracked or flaked off, noted Cristina Acidini, the head of Florence's cultural heritage and museums. For one sample, a probe was slipped into a spot near a downward thrusting sword in Vasari's work. For another sample, the probe went through a point near the head of a horse, with its eye open wide as if startled. Seracini was inspired by the word's "Cerca, trova," ("seek and you shall find") which were painted on a tiny flag in Vasari's painting depicting a different battle. Those who think Leonardo's work might be hidden behind the later wall painting contend it is unlikely that Vasari, famed for his biographies of Renaissance artists, would have destroyed any masterpiece by Leonardo. "We have found these very special black pigments, and there are some traces of red," Seracini told reporters. The red is a kind of lacquer "used for oil painting. And this element matches Leonardo's plan to paint his Battle of Anghiari' with an oil technique," Seracini contended. The hunt for the missing Leonardo mural is being led by the National Geographic Society and the University of California, San Diego, in partnership with the city of Florence. Experts from Florence's world renowned art restoration institute, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, also were involved. "These data are very encouraging," said Seracini, a National Geographic Fellow. "Although we are still in the preliminary stages of the research, and there is still a lot of work to be done to solve this mystery, the evidence does suggest that we are searching in the right place," said a National Geographic statement quoting Seracini. Seracini and his colleagues note that some black material found behind Vasari's wall shows a chemical composition similar found in brown glazes in two Leonardo works, "Mona Lisa" and "St. John the Baptist." Flakes of red material that were found appear to be organic pigments, the researchers said. A study of high-definition endoscopic images "suggests" that a beige material spotted on the original wall was applied by a paint brush, the researchers aid. Previously, using radar and X-rays, Seracini and his team found a cavity behind Vasari's fresco that they think could indicate a space between two walls. Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi said one plan aims to remove some parts of the Vasari fresco which were restored in the 19th and 20th centuries, to look behind them. "We are sure that the "Battle of Angiari' is behind" Vasari's work, he said. ____ Frances D'Emilio contributed from Rome Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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