http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/does-a-smear-on-da-vinci-manuscript-page-hide-a-sketch-of-michelangelos-famous-david/news-story/199d40fe65278b6fce5620964a9416d2A NEW scan of an erased doodle in one of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks has revealed what appears to be a sketch of Michelangelo’s famous statue of David.
Da Vinci almost compulsively sketched whatever he saw. Only a fraction of his work remains.
So the chance to peer beneath the surface of one of his 500-year-old pages to reveal an image he had erased naturally proved irresistible to researchers at the British Library.
The master artist, inventor and observer of the world around him had taken some effort to smear the ink out of view.
But a faint trace of a 6cm tall figure proved indelible.
Exactly what it was remained a mystery, however, until researchers cast new light on its origins.
Literally.
Multispectral imaging analysis sifted through a large spectrum of imperceptible light to get a better look at the precious, faded page.
The ultra-high resolution ultraviolet images then had filters applied to convert the image back into realms visible to the human eye.
It’s a techniqe being used to expose repairs and uncover faded details of many famous artworks.
What Da Vinci was trying to hide was a figure of a naked man.
British Library imaging scientist Dr Christina Duffyasks in her blog: “The images raise fascinating questions about why the figure was drawn here, and why great efforts were made to erase it.”
Was it Da Vinci’s notorious perfectionism? Or pique?
Oxford professor of the history of art, Martin Kemp, told the Sunday Times he believes the image holds a strong resemblance to Michelangelo’s famous statue of David.
Da Vinci was reputedly very jealous of the talents of his younger rival.
