Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Has Another Leonardo Come to Light?

October 6, 2013 by Marion Maneker

DaVinci Portrait of Isabella D'Este

The Telegraph reports that an Italian family has come forward with a Leonardo da Vinci painting that has been kept in a Swiss vault. Previously only known as the subject of a sketch, the portrait of Isabella d’Este appears to prove that the artist completed the work. (Update: But Martin Kemp vigorously disputes this.) This is the third re-discovered Leonardo to come to light. What’s interesting about all three privately held works is that no transaction has yet been reported (Update: a quick responding reader says the reports of a sale of Salvator Mundi are credible):

Scientific tests suggest that the oil portrait is indeed the work of da Vinci, according to Carlo Pedretti, a professor emeritus of art history and an expert in Leonardo studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“There are no doubts that the portrait is the work of Leonardo,” Prof Pedretti, a recognised expert in authenticating disputed works by Da Vinci, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“I can immediately recognise Da Vinci’s handiwork, particularly in the woman’s face.”

Tests have shown that the type of pigment in the portrait was the same as that used by Leonardo and that the primer used to treat the canvas on which it was painted corresponds to that employed by the Renaissance genius.

Carbon dating, conducted by a mass spectrometry laboratory at the University of Arizona, has shown that there is a 95 per cent probability that the portrait was painted between 1460 and 1650.

But there needs to be further analysis to determine whether certain elements of the portrait — notably a golden tiara on the noblewoman’s head and a palm leaf held in her hand like a sceptre — were the work of Leonardo or one of his pupils, Prof Pedretti said.

Leonardo da Vinci painting lost for centuries found in Swiss bank vault (Telegraph)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Ram Kumar At HomeRam Kumar At Home
  • Qatar's Mathaf Stands Up for ArtQatar's Mathaf Stands Up for Art
  • Art Advisers Are Status-Conscious, Wealth-Seeking Dealmakers, Just Like Bernard BerensonArt Advisers Are Status-Conscious, Wealth-Seeking Dealmakers, Just Like Bernard Berenson
  • El Anatsui King of the World at Bonhams in MayEl Anatsui King of the World at Bonhams in May
  • Returning Iraq's HeritageReturning Iraq's Heritage
  • Frieze New York Sales ReportFrieze New York Sales Report

Filed Under: Artists

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...