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Louvre May Have Found New Leonardo Sketches

Three drawings found on back of painting

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 18, 2008 1:49 PM CST

(Newser) – Curators from the Louvre have discovered three sketches on the back of Leonardo da Vinci’s oil painting "Virgin And Child With St Anne" that may be by the master himself, the AFP reports. Museum workers noticed two barely visible sketches, of a horse’s head and a human skull, when the painting was being moved. Further examination uncovered a third sketch, of a baby Jesus and lamb.

"This is an exceptional discovery as sketches on backs of works are very rare and there is no known example of one from Leonardo to this day,” said a Louvre statement, which stressed that Leonardo’s authorship has not been confirmed: “While the style of the sketches evokes Leonardo da Vinci, research is continuing."

This undated photo provided Thursday Dec.18, 2008 by Le Louvre museum shows sketches on the back of a painting Leonardo da Vinci, which may have been drawn by the Renaissance master.
This undated photo provided Thursday Dec.18, 2008 by Le Louvre museum shows sketches on the back of a painting Leonardo da Vinci, which may have been drawn by the Renaissance master.   (AP Photo/E Lambert; C2RMF)
Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin and Child With St Anne.
Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin and Child With St Anne."   (Wikimedia Commons)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Victoria Zinn
Dec 26, 2010 5:13 AM CST
why Louvre is always behind? my art studies over 8yrs knows all what Louvre just found! even that portrait of what they believe is DaVinci young portrait with long beard. someone in 2009 produced a portrait(digital) based on a painting of a young man with long beard found with any DaVinci's thing! even though i didn't agree, i mean if a digital artist can furnish a portrait based on beliefs and not codes and still be wrong, then it proves that we may never settle on a biography, its the biography they re looking to find out and not new sketches, Louvre wants to claim those sketches. i always believed that Leonardo looked like the portrait we always knew him by, but that young man with the beard is Gherardini, an in law who moved to america and got nicknamed gary, he was not thrilled by Leonardo even though he was a painter himself. the biography every one is looking to settle on can be achieved, if we never forget today's digital artist who made us a digital portrait of what thought to be DaVinci, no codse, numbers, letters behind eyes or even inscript!

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