A group of international art experts have signed a petition to halt the
search for Leonardo da Vinci’s fabled painting, Battle of Anghiari,
fearing irreversible damage to Giorgio Vasari’s representation of the Battle
of Scannagallo.
Believed to be in Palazzo Vecchio’s Salone de’ Cinquecento, the lost
Leonardo was heralded as the greatest masterwork by the era’s greatest master.
According to historical documentation, da Vinci started painting the Battle
of Anghiari in 1504 but later abandoned the project. In 1563, Vasari allegedly
covered it up, completing the larger mural that still decorates one wall of the
Salone. For years some art historians, led by Dr. Maurizio Seracini (see TF
43), have been searching for the masterpiece.
Recent tests proving the existence of a gap behind the Vasari work have
led Seracini and his team to drill small holes in already damaged areas of the Battle
of Scannagallo and insert miniature cameras that, they hope, will capture
images behind the exterior wall. Although preliminary testing has found traces
of an organic pigment behind the wall, it will take another two months to run
the full chemical analyses in the laboratory. In the meantime, Seracini and his
team, which is backed by the mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, say the holes
will be closed up and the Vasari fresco restored after the search.
However, the action has angered many who consider it too intrusive,
especially those who believe there is nothing behind the Vasari mural. Among
them is Cecilia Frosinone, an expert restorer who had been working with the
Seracini team; she recently resigned, citing ‘ethical’ reasons, and started a
petition to stop the search with other concerned art experts and scholars,
including those from Paris’ Louvre, the National Gallery of London and the
Metropolitan Museum of New York.
The petition appeals to Florence magistrates, who recently sent the
Carabinieri to Palazzo Vecchio to investigate the alleged damage to the Vasari.
As TF went to press on December 12, the local press reported that the
Carabinieri had not yet officially taken a stance on the matter.
