Peter Paul Rubens’ copy of “The Battle of Anghiari”
Leonardo’s ‘Battle of Anghiari’ may have been found Known only through copies, Leonardo da Vinci’s lost fresco of ‘The Battle of Anghiari’ is believed to be one of the most important works of art ever created. Now, researchers in Florence may have discovered the original fresco.]]>
March 13, 2012, source: theartwolf.com
Italian expert Maurizio Seracini told reporters that he has found traces of Leonardo da Vinci’s a lost mural behind a fresco done by Giorgio Vasari some years later. According to Seracini, the material found behind the Vasari wall is similar to those found in Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” and “St. John the Baptist”.
The existence of a small gap between the Vasari wall and the wall behind was already known by Seracini, who believes that the words “Cerca trova” (“He who seeks, finds”) that can be read on Vasari’s fresco are a hint of the existence of an important work behind it.
The two frescoes depicting “The Battle of Anghiari” and “The Battle of Cascina” were an order made by P. Soderini to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo for the Great Council Hall in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Due to diverse reasons Michelangelo’s “The Battle of Cascina” was not completed and was cut in pieces in 1512. Leonardo’s “The Battle of Anghiari” -though also unfinished- was greatly admired and several copies were made for decades.
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