Da Vinci To Be Exhumed

Scientists and historians of Italy's National Committee for Culture and Heritage are appealing to the French government to exhume the remains of Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci in order to determine whether or not his famous Mona Lisa is in fact a self-portrait in disguise.

The appeal to French cultural officials and the owners of the Amboise Chateau, da Vinci's final resting place, has received preliminary permission and is expected to get the final go-ahead by summer.

The Italian team will use miniature cameras and electro-magnetic ground-penetrating radar to produce images of the underground space to confirm the presence of bones. After that, says Silvano Vincenti, head of the Italian team, the first step of the project will be to ensure that the bones are truly da Vinci's. A sign next to the tomb informs that the remains are only "presumed" to be those of the artist. Carbon dating and DNA samples of the bones and teeth compared to male descendants of those in Bologna will confirm. The team hopes to find da Vinci's skull still in tact so that a virtual, and eventually a physical, reconstruction of his face may be created. The recreation is to be done by Francesco Mallegni, an anthropology professor specializing in reconstruction, who has reconstructed many other famous Italian faces, including Dante (Dante's Inferno).

The exhumation will also reveal the cause of da Vinci's death. "There aren't any clues in history books", Vincenti stated, "but we'll be able to find out if Leonardo died of a disease such as syphilis or tuberculosis, because that shows up in the bones." The bones could also establish whether da Vinci died of lead poisoning due to exposure to toxic pigments, as many painters of the time did.

The theory that inspired the appeal came from American art expert Dr. Lillian Schwartz, who found similarities between the Mona Lisa and and 1515 self-portrait of the artist. After superimposing the two, Schwartz found that the facial features aligned perfectly. The true identity of the Mona Lisa has been a mystery for centuries, but scholars enthusiastic about the find, presume that da Vinci's suspected homosexuality and love of riddles led him to paint himself in drag.

Scholars not swayed by the new theory have concurred that the sitter for the Mona Lisa was Lisa Gherardini, wife of rich Florentine silk merchant Francesco Giocondo. When one looks at the Mona Lisa's real name, La Gioconda, this seems likely. Da Vinci's mother and an androgynous lover were also presented as possible sitters.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci died May 2, 1519 at the age of 67, after becoming "first painter" to King Francis I of France. The monarch ordered the painter to be buried in the church of his summer retreat, Saint Florentine at Amboise Castle in France's Liore Valley. After the destruction of Saint Florentine during the French Revolution of 1789, da Vinci was moved to the castle's smaller chapel, Saint Hubert, where he lies today.