SANTA FIORA, TUSCANY - A NEW LEONARDO ?

A fresco featuring what appears to be a hitherto unknown portrait of Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in the hamlet of Santa Fiora, near Grosseto (Tuscany). Young researcher Daniela Fogar stumbled on the painting, believed to represent the 4-5 century AD Doctor of the Church St. Jerome (San Gerolamo) on a casual visit to the medieval Church of Santa Maria della Neve, one of the stops on the ancient Via Francigena, the traditional pilgrim's route to Rome, and was struck by the resemblance to the famous red chalk self-portrait of Leonardo in the Turin Royal Library.

The fresco shows the saint with the same deep-set eyes, bushy eyebrows and flowing hair and beard as the great renaissance artist. In addition, his left arm is bent and the position of the elbow resembles anatomical studies by Leonardo.

There appears to be no record of the actual author of the fresco or of an eventual presence of Leonardo in Santa Fiora. However, the little borgo was well-known in medieval times and has a mention in Dante's Purgatorioâ In Leonardo's day, the territory was part of the estate of the powerful Milanese Sforza family, who were also the artist's patrons.

The fresco has not yet been examined by experts to ascertain a possible connection with Leonardo's school, however, Trieste art historian Paolo Cervi Kervischer theorizes that it may actually represent San Gerolamo Emiliano, founder of the Congregazione dei Chierici Somasci, a contemporary of Leonardo's and also a protegďż˝ of the Sforza family. The resemblance to Leonardo may have been an attempt to render the image of the artist  known for his heretical tendencies with regard to the religious orthodoxy of the time of more acceptable, by linking him to the saintly Jerome Emiliano.

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Posted on 16 Feb 2012 by Editor
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