Silvano Vinceti claims he has found the letter “S” in the
woman’s left eye, the letter “L” in her right eye, and the number “72” under
the arched bridge in the backdrop of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting.
According to the researcher, the symbols open up new leads to identifying the
model, dating the painting, and attesting to Leonardo’s interest in religion
and mysticism.
This is just the latest theory about a painting that has
never ceased to intrigue scholars, art lovers and casual viewers alike. Others
have claimed the painting is really the portrait of a man, or a self-portrait,
while speculation over the reason for the model’s famously enigmatic smile have
ranged from pregnancy to mourning.
Some Leonardo scholars have expressed doubt over the new
findings or their significance, with one calling them “unsubstantial.” The
newly found symbols are not visible to the naked eye.
Vinceti said Wednesday they are “very small, painted with a
tiny brush and subjected to the wear and tear of time.” Vinceti has not studied
the painting directly at the Louvre Museum, where it is on display. He said his
research was based on high-definition scanned images from the Lumiere
Technology in Paris, which specializes in digitizing artworks. Back in Italy, a
Rome laboratory digitally excluded reflexes and other colors in the eyes in
order to isolate the letters and make them stand out, Vinceti said.
The number “72” was recently found hidden in an arch of the
bridge to the right of the model, he told The Associated Press.
Tradition holds that the “Mona Lisa” is a painting of Lisa
Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that
Leonardo started painting it in 1503.
But Vinceti said the “S” might refer to a woman in the
Sforza dynasty that ruled Milan. Leonardo spent time there between 1482-1499
and then between 1506-1507, Vinceti said, which might change the date of when
the painting was begun.
Vinceti said the letter on the painting is drawn in the same
way Leonardo did in his writings. The letter “L” is for Leonardo, he said.
Vinceti and his group of historians and researchers are
currently studying documents and making cross-references about Leonardo’s
movements and possible models. He said they expect to come up with a name for
the model within weeks.
The number “72,” Vinceti argues, is found in the Kabbalah, a
form of Jewish mysticism, and in Christianity.
Even when considered separately, “7” is full of symbolic
associations in both Judaism and Christianity, for example to the creation of
the world, and the number “2” may be a reference to the duality of male and
female, said Vinceti.
The researcher said he remains open to other
interpretations, but insisted that the “Mona Lisa” was more than just a
painting for Leonardo — it was a “cultural will” of sorts.
“Leonardo did nothing by chance,” said Vinceti. “He wanted
to leave his final thoughts on his view of the universe.” Vinceti is the same
researcher who has recently said he located Caravaggio’s remains. He also
sought to dig up Leonardo’s body in France to conduct carbon and DNA testing.
Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to
Leonardo in his Tuscan hometown of Vinci, was skeptical.
Vezzosi argued that multiple sources prove that the painting
depicts a woman from Florence, saying the purported new symbols are
insufficient to counter that evidence.
Claudio Strinati, an art historian and an official with the
Italian Culture Ministry, said Leonardo’s passion for the Kabbalah is well
known. But he doesn’t believe that Leonardo wanted to attach any symbolic
meaning to the letters and numbers, otherwise he would have left better clues.
“Over the past decades there have been so many
interpretations I don’t even remember them all,” Strinati told the AP. “We all
think the (Mona Lisa) is this constant source of mystery. The truth is, when
you set your mind to finding a secret, you can demonstrate whatever you want.”
