"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

06 April 2011

Little.

Leonardo, Mona Lisa, 1519


Italian researchers said Tuesday they will dig up bones in a Florence convent to try to identify the remains of a Renaissance woman long believed to be the model for the "Mona Lisa."

The project falls within a current trend of employing CSI-like methods in art history, for example to find out about an artist's technique, discover details hidden in a painting or even learn about an artist's life or death. The group led by Vinceti has already reconstructed the faces of some Italian artists on the basis of their skulls, and last year it said it had identified the bones of Caravaggio and discovered a possible cause of death, 400 years after the artist died in mysterious circumstances.

Such researches have drawn criticism, with some experts expressing doubt that analyses on centuries-old bones can be conclusive. Other scholars say such scientific techniques have little to add when it comes to appreciating or understanding a work of art.


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