Did Da Vinci Leave a Hidden Message in the Mona Lisa?
by CATHERINE GARNEY
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.
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