THE GREATEST MYSTERY IN ART HISTORY [VIDEO]

 

THE GREATEST MYSTERY IN ART HISTORY

On June 29, 1440, the Florence-led Italian League defeated a numerically superior Milanese force at Anghiari, near Tuscany. Though the casualties were light on both sides, this victory enabled Florence to establish its dominance in central Italy. This would contribute to the rise of the great Medici family, some of the most influential figures in Italian history especially its Renaissance.

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But surprisingly, it would also lead to one of the greatest mysteries in the history of art.

In 1504, almost a century after the battle, the Florentine government approached one of the greatest Renaissance artists with a commission - paint a depiction of the Battle of Anghiari on a wall of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s main city hall. This artist was none other than the great Leonardo da Vinci.

Now at the time, it was common for wall murals to be painted using the fresco technique. Let's get down to a little freshman painting course, Frescoes involve laying dry pigment against wet, freshly laid plaster, which essentially means, fusing the painting with the wall. However, the problem is that the plaster dries quickly, and so any mistakes made with such a painting cannot be easily undone.

The ever innovative - Leonardo, devised an alternative, which was to attempt the mural with oil paints, using beeswax to get them to stick. Ideally, this would give him more control over the rate at which the paint dried. Initially, the plan seemed successful. But Leonardo now faced the opposite problem of all he was rather trying to avoid in the first place - the paints were drying too slow, causing them to drip and run off.

So, the painter decided to use charcoal stoves to try and accelerate the drying process. Again, the master’s ingenuity showed; the stoves were hooked up through an ingenious pulley system, allowing workers to distribute heat throughout the wall by pulling on a series of ropes. Unfortunately, Leonardo had failed to put one thing into account - the beeswax. With the sudden increase in heat, the wax adhesion to the wall began to dwindle, thereby, irrevocably ruining the work.

Leonardo was devastated. He had dealt with problems ever since he had begun the project, and now weeks of hard work had been irreparably ruined. Discouraged, the maestro abandoned the project and never returned to it. The Florentines had expected a grandiose depiction of their great victory covering the entire wall. But what they were left with was a small depiction of just a few soldiers on horseback, engaged in ferocious combat for a battle standard.

In spite of its not too stately incomplete appearance, Leonardo’s - The Battle of Anghiari (1505) - instead, was instantly recognized as a very brilliant piece. Well, it will interest you to know that throughout his lifetime, Leonardo had carefully dissected and studied the carcasses of both animals and condemned men, making precise notes on their anatomical composition.

This gave him an unparalleled advantage in depicting physiological detail, a fact which was greatly reflected in his mural. This is clear with the detail put into the musculature of the riders and their horses.

In fact, many of Leonardo’s contemporaries considered “Anghiari” to be Leonardo’s finest painting — a statement not to be taken lightly, considering the fact that both very popular paintings of his the MONA LISA and THE LAST SUPPER preceded it.

So why don’t we hear more about this famed painting? And why aren’t there people flocking to see it in all its glory?

Well, the sad truth is that it’s gone.

THE LOST PAINTING OF LEONARDO DA VINCI

During the 1560s, the Palazzio de Vechio was remodeled by the architect Giorgo Vasari, who also painted new frescoes of his own creation on the walls. It’s believed that these renovations are ultimately what destroyed Leonardo’s painting. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the mural still lies somewhere, hidden. The very popular art historian Carlo Pedretti noted that Vasari was known to have preserved existing art in previous renovations; it would not unthinkable that he would have done the same with those at the Palazzio.

Things get really interesting in Vasari's 1565 Battle of Marciano which many believe to be painted over Leonardo Da Vinci's, Anghiari. On the surface, there’s nothing surprising about it. But if you zoom into the part circled in red and you will inscribed therein are the words

“Cerca trova.” which is an Italian phrase meaning, “Seek and ye shall find.”

Well, perhaps Vasari is telling us that “Anghiari” is close by, hidden behind his work? It’s notable that this is the only instance of words on any of Vasari’s frescoes too; perhaps there’s more to its inclusion here than just a depiction of a banner?

No one knows for sure, and any attempts to find out have been shot down, as they would entail destroying Vasari’s work to some extent. And so, the location of Leonardo’s greatest painting remains a mystery, with no certainty of whether it will ever be recovered. Befittingly, it is now known as the “Lost Leonardo" for short.