Lost Leonardo mural looked for with new high tech gadgets by UC San Diego researchers in Florence

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Scott M. Haskins

In 1505 Leonardo da Vinci began painting a mural – to commemorate the Battle of Anghiari – in the Palazzo Vecchio’s Great Hall, the seat of government in Renaissance Florence. Shortly after beginning, it is reported that the mural sustained damage (a technique flaw?), wasn’t fixed or finished by the artist and then covered over with another mural. UC San Diego researchers in Florence explore new ways to search for lost Leonardo mural.

Above, UC San Diego grad student David Vanoni uses an endoscopic probe on the wall behind which The Battle of Anghiari mural is believed to be hidden. This is just one of the many fascinating projects being conducted by students in IGERT programs all over the country (there are also several more projects from UC San Diego, including one on using crowdsourcing to find the tomb of Genghis Kahn and one on genetics. Right now, videos of these projects are available for viewing and the public can comment and vote for their favorite ones. Igert.org/competition2012

See this entire article at http://phys.org/news/2012-05-uc-san-diego-florence-explore.html

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About Scott M. Haskins

Scott Haskins has been in professional art conservation since 1975, specializing in the conservation/restoration of easel paintings, murals and art on paper. FACL, Inc. is known nationally for doing A+ work no matter the size or difficulty of the project. We are happy to do a quick cleaning on a family heirloom. Our client list and resume is also full of very satisfied clients of large, difficult/complicated projects at remote locations. Excellent services are also available as an Expert Witness/Legal Testimony in art related matters. Consultation on art related projects occur regularly including extensive insurance evaluations for insured or insurer. Services are offered worldwide. Scott M. Haskins is also author of the "Save Your Stuff" series, educational information, materials and supplies to help people protect and save their treasured family heirlooms and collectibles at home and office. He can be reached at 805 564 3438. Video and written testimonials at https://www.fineartconservationlab.com/testimonials/
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3 Responses to Lost Leonardo mural looked for with new high tech gadgets by UC San Diego researchers in Florence

  1. Tiffany says:
    August 21, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    Great blog right here! Loved your info about Leonardo’s research. Do you do analysis of paintings in your lab? What kind of research do you do?

    • Scott M. Haskins says:
      August 21, 2012 at 3:12 pm

      Yes, Tiffany we do analysis of paintings to see if signatures are authentic, if there has been proper previous restoration work done, and sometimes we help in the establishing of dates and authenticity. Call our office at 805 564 3438 for more info.

  2. Rachael Towne says:
    July 5, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    It’s absolutely amazing that this can be done! Being completely ignorant of any of the processes used to uncover a mural under a mural, it just seems as if it would be impossible. Obviously not though. Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but do you have to destroy the top mural in order to find the original?

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