Cathy Garney

Did Da Vinci Leave a Hidden Message in the Mona Lisa?

The world famous painting "Mona Lisa" once again find itself at the center of a Da Vinci mystery, though this time the mystery is in the world of fact rather than fiction. By studying the painting up close through very powerful magnifying glasses, Italian scientists have thus discovered that the dark parts of the eyes of the Mona Lisa have additional secrets to tell: a series of letters and numbers the meaning of which is still unclear. While it sounds like a discovery strait out of the pages of Dan Browns Da Vinci mystery, in which the painting...

The world famous painting "Mona Lisa" once again find itself at the center of a Da Vinci mystery, though this time the mystery is in the world of fact rather than fiction. By studying the painting up close through very powerful magnifying glasses, Italian scientists have thus discovered that the dark parts of the eyes of the Mona Lisa have additional secrets to tell: a series of letters and numbers the meaning of which is still unclear.

While it sounds like a discovery strait out of the pages of Dan Browns Da Vinci mystery, in which the painting contains clues that lead to a quest for the Holy Grail, the new discovery is very real. The discovery was made by Silvano Vinceti, the head of the Italian committee for Cultural inheritage, who explained to the Daily Mail of Britain that the letters and numbers are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Only through the use of powerful magnifying equipment can the numbers and letters be seen, but then they can actually be seen quite clearly, though the exact letters can still be hard to see.

 
So far, it has been clearly established that the right pupil contains the letters LV, which could potentially be short for Leonardo da Vinci. The symbols in the left eyes are not as clear and no consensus on the exact letters has yet been agreed. It is however agreed that it could either be CE or CB. It has been speculated that these might be the initials of the female in the painting. While it has been widely speculated that the Mona Lisa is in fact a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, it has never been 100 pct firmly established. As such, the initials could potentially point towards a different subject in this portrait. The arch of the bridge in the background furthermore contains the writing 72 or L2.

As also mentioned by Silvano Vincenti, it should be kept in mind that the painting is almost 500 years old. As such, the numbers and letters are not as easily readable as when they were painted. However, there is absolutely no doubt that they were put there on purpose by Da Vinci.

The initiative for the current detail examination of the Mona Lisa started when another member of the Italian Commission for Cultural Inheritance found a book in an old book store talking about the use of symbols in the eyes of the Mona Lisa. It is well known that Da Vinci himself put special importance in the Mona Lisa and brought it with him everywhere. It is also well known that Da Vinci used symbols to send messages. The exact meaning of the newly discovered symbols in the eyes of the Mona Lisa has not yet been firmly established. Rest assured however, that scientists will be emerging themselves in this newest Da Vinci mystery and debate its meaning for years to come.

Article Tags: Mona Lisa

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR