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Da Vinci Fingerprint IDs Lost Painting
15th-century portrait hailed as most important Da Vinci find in a century
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Oct 13, 09 5:55 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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A painting bought for $19,000 by a Canadian dealer two years ago has been valued at $150 million after it was determined to be a work by Leonardo Da Vinci. Carbon dating and infrared techniques convinced experts that the portrait on vellum was a genuine Da Vinci. The final proof came when analysis found a fingerprint "highly comparable” to one on the artist's painting, St. Jerome.
“It all sounded too good to be true—after 40 years in the Leonardo business, I thought I’d seen it all,” one art professor told the Times.of London. As his research continued, though, “all the bits fell into place like a well-made piece of furniture. All the drawers slotted in.” The portrait is the first major Da Vinci find in more than a century.