If successful, the research might help identify the woman depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452 – 1519) masterpiece—a mystery that has puzzled scholars and art lovers for centuries and created countless theories.
The project aims to locate the remains of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo.
Tradition has long linked Gherardini to the painting. Giorgio Vasari, a 16th century artist and biographer of da Vinci, wrote that da Vinci painted a portrait of del Giocondo’s wife.
Gherardini was born in 1479. A few years ago, an amateur Italian historian said he had found a death certificate showing she died on July 15, 1542, with her final resting place being the Convent of St. Ursula in central Florence.
“That’s where the digging will begin later this month,” said Silvano Vinceti, an art historian and the project leader.
This research will use CSI-like methods in art history to find out about an artist’s technique, discover hidden details in a painting or even learn about an artist’s life or death.
Vinceti says the artwork is likely not the physical portrait of one single model but the result of several. “Gherardini might have been an early model,” he said. “We can put an end to a centuries-old dispute.”
However, there are voices of skepticism as well. “Several experts believe that remains from several hundred years ago cannot be the decisive evidence,” added Vinceti.
