In a scene straight out of the spirit of "National Treasure" or "The Da Vinci Code," a curator at the Louvre in Paris has discovered secret drawings on the back of a Da Vinci painting.
"The extraordinary find was made by chance, when Louvre staff unhooked Leonardo's 'The Virgin and Child with St. Anne' from the museum," said a Reuters article last week. It was part of "a broad program of study and restoration of paintings by da Vinci, including the 'Mona Lisa.'"
Experts say that the "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" was painted by the great da Vinci in the early 1500s. "No one had previously noticed the drawings -- at least not to the knowledge of the Louvre," said the article.
Infrared cameras discovered an image on the back of the painting described as the "child Jesus playing with a lamb."
As I read this, I found myself inspired, not sure whether this was a case of Life Imitates Art, or whether the art of recent historical movies has been more onto reality than previously realized. In either case, I believe that all of us are on a quest for what's real as opposed to what's inspiring for the moment. Perhaps Tom Hanks will play da Vinci at some point!
I hope this discovery proves to be true, and I hope that it shows us even more about what the esteemed Mr. da Vinci was really up to as he laid the artistic groundwork for so much of what has become our current "bible" of treasured and revered art.
In the meantime, I think I'll go rent "National Treasure," "National Treasure II," or "The Da Vinci Code;" outside of going to the Louvre, it's the best we have to inspire the quest for historical truth. At least so far.
And in this holiday season, anything that takes me back in history to get me closer to The Source is good by me!
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