As if the Da Vinci Code weren’t enough, an Italian has lodged a formal request with France to exhume the body of Leonardo Da Vinci, from what is believed to be his tomb at Amboise, in the Loire, France. It’s just another bizarre twist in the myth of the Mona Lisa and the genius of Da Vinci.

The idea behind asking to exhume his body would be to examine the skull of Leonardo Da Vinci to determine whether the Mona Lisa (called the “La Gioconda” by Italians), is in fact, a self-portait of the artist. What’s more, it seems that the French government may grant the request, and that the operation could take place by this summer.

It’s another step in the weird analyses taking place of the Mona Lisa, which include the study of the Mona Lise smile apparently due to high colesterol. For more details on that take, see the The Telegraph.

Source | Artsblog.it

Continue reading: Italian requests to exhume body of Da Vinci

The small town of Da Vinci is hosting a new and to some extent bizarre exhibition dedicated to one of the world’s most famous paintings: the Mona Lisa. The bizarre element I am referring to is the centrepiece of the exhibition which this time will not be the famous Gioconda (that’s the name of the Painting in Italian) but a series of half-naked Mona Lisas depicted by other artists. Some of these portrayals on view date back to 17th century. This exhibition is at the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, near Florence (where Leonardo was born in 1452) and can only be seen as a nouveau variation on the theme; a variation which for some will border on the risqué!

Continue reading: Naked Mona Lisas on display at Da Vinci, near Florence