Leonardo's Lost Princess Read Online Free PDF

formulate opinions, sometimes very rapidly. These opinions, which are the consequence of visual and mental associations, are sometimes confused [with] intuition, which they are not, since opinions are based solely on previous experience[,] and this important point should be remembered.”
    As Mina studied the portrait, the first question that came to mind concerned its date of execution and the age of the vellum. “The subtle darkening of the support and its natural wear over time led me to believe that it was indeed late fifteenth century,” she explained in her article. “I could therefore go a step further, but in the full knowledge that the authenticity alone of the vellum support was not in itself a guarantee that the portrait drawn on its surface would be genuine, since we all know that the wiliest of fakers have successfully used old supports, or ones that have been cleverly aged by artificial means.”
    As Mina gazed at the face of the sitter, she felt a strong sensation of being in the presence of a living person. She took note of many instances of a high level of execution. These were convincing details, but it was the advanced level of artistry that really compelled her:
    As always happens, I first devoted my attention to the face: from this I gained the feeling of being in front of a living being whose beauty suggested an Antique profile. This ancient classical portrait type was the source of inspiration for this head, which was a form that was so successfully revived by the painters and sculptors of the Florentine Quattrocento.
    A dating of the portrait to the last decade of the fifteenth century is confirmed by the young woman’s ornate costume and her coiffure, with her hair gathered together behind her head in a thick plait, called a “coazzone,” an unusual and locally specific fashion which places the portrait’s production in Lombardy at a time when Leonardo was in the service of Ludovico il Moro. In both date and cultural context, it therefore differs markedly from portraits by Leonardo’s Lombard followers. Indeed, in my view, exact parallels in the brightness and transparency of the girl’s eye are only to be found in other examples in the drawings of Leonardo.
    After having directed my attention to the linear development of the portrait, I took note of the execution of the fine hair at the top of the girl’s head, which is the best preserved area of her elaborate tresses. Of the same high level of execution is the subtle colouring in the un-retouched areas of the cheek, where the tonal gradations are almost imperceptible. This inimitable delicacy made me think of this same famous characteristic found in the face of the Mona Lisa .
    Mina remained bent over the portrait for a very long time. Finally, she called me to her side. “Yes,” she said. “It is Leonardo. Allow me to be the first to say so formally.” I handed her a black-and-white photo, and she wrote the attribution on the back. I still have it.
    She concluded in her article that “what most readily evokes this portrait is the utter simplicity of its structure, and yet at the same time the young woman’s imperious air. But the whole work is also enriched by the artist’s unshakeable intention to be governed solely by natural appearances, an ambitious motivation that can only be realized by a great master. And that master is Leonardo.”

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    Leonardo’s World
    We, by our arts, may be called the grandsons of God.
    â€”Leonardo da Vinci
    Five hundred years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci continues to intrigue us. He is the most famous and revered artist of all time. Leonardo was a prolific artist, yet he left fewer than twenty paintings—the most famous being The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. He was the ultimate Renaissance man: an artist, a scientist, a designer, and an inventor whose imagination and scientific prowess were centuries ahead of his time. Artists, designers, and engineers still study the meticulous drawings