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Jean-Pierre Muller / AFP / Getty Images
The Portrait of Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, hangs in Louvre museum in Paris. Experts may have found the bones of the real life model for the famous painting.
Mona Lisa's skull and bones may have been found beneath a decrepit nunnery in Florence, Italy, archaeologists are reporting.
If so, scientists will be a step closer to proving that Lisa Gheradini Del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant, was the model for Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting that today hangs in Paris' Louvre.
Italians know the painting as La Gioconda based on a belief that her husband, Francisco del Giocondo, commissioned Da Vinci to paint a portrait of his wife in 1502.
Historical records, including a death certificate discovered a few years ago, indicate Gheradini was buried at St. Ursula's convent where she died in 1542, two years after her husband's death.
A team of archaeologists led by Silvano Vinceti, chairman of the National Committee for the Promotion of Historical Heritage, Culture, and Environment, began excavating the dilapidated building where the convent was located in April.
Earlier this month, the team discovered the crypt where Gheradini was thought to be buried. On May 19, the team reported the recovery of a skull and other fragments of human ribs and vertebrae.
Today, experts said preliminary analysis of the bones indicates they belong to a female.
Vinceti noted that a battery of tests such as carbon-14 dating and a comparison of DNA with two of Gheradini's children buried in Florence's Santissima Annunziata church will be required to prove the skeleton belonged to the Mona Lisa's real-life model.
Then, the team will reconstruct the face and compare it to the famous painting to see if they match.
More stories on Mona Lisa science:
- Mona Lisa's identity revealed under concrete?
- Is that Mona Lisa? Bones to be dug up for ID
- Scientists crack secrets of Mona Lisa
- Was Mona Lisa pregnant when she posed?
- Did Leonardo paint himself as Mona Lisa?
- Mons Lisa speaks … virtually
- Nude, Mona Lisa like painting surfaces
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by hitting the "like" button on the Cosmic Log Facebook page or following msnbc.com's science editor, Alan Boyle, on Twitter (@b0yle).
Leave a Comment:
Where's Silas and Remy?
I really, really, don't care. What a waste of time.
Randy.... don't take this to heart, but if you're not into art - why'd you bother to even click the article? The world's most famous painting... why not care?
Yeah, "art"! Pish-tosh!
I wish the news media would cover this story with a bit more skepticism. Since no one has, as a biological anthropologist, I felt I needed to do so:
The Skull with the Mona Lisa Smile (at PastHorizons)
I heard a theory that DeVinci painted himself as a woman. Isn't it still being decided? Or it's iron-clad?
That's why the article says "prove" that it's her and not Da Vinci. At this point it's probably this theory vs. that theory.
This is really pretty creepy...why not just let her remains RIP? All of this ghoulishness in an attempt to satisfy some relatively minor historical curiosity?
Personally, I've never really understood the whole "let the remains RIP" thing. Not that I have a problem with people who feel that way, I just really don't get it. Anything that made her who she was has long since left those earthly remnants behind -- whether you believe in a soul or not. I realize that is just my opinion and few people would likely agree with me, but there it is. I've already talked to my family and my husband and let them know that when I do pass on (hopefully many, many years from now -- cancer is in remission, thank you very much), I would like to be buried with a sign in durable material inviting any future archaeologist to do with my remains what they like if there is anything to be learned from them. They won't be doing me a darn bit of good anymore, so why not? If I can in any small way contribute to the future of human knowledge and understanding (even to satisfy a "minor historical curiosity), I'd be thrilled.
Any female could be in the tomb. Anyone doing a facial reconstruction from the skull would be biased to make it Mona Lisa or not make it Mona Lisa.
And the DNA test would prove nothing. It would prove the woman had DNA and that's about it since we don't have DNA from Mona Lisa to start with.
At least they are not claiming its an alien from Alpha Centauri.
Depends on how they go about the reconstruction. When they reconstructed the face of King Tut, they sent the data to three different specialists. One group knew it was King Tut they were reconstructing, but the others did not. For all they knew at the time they were given the commission, the data could have come from a John Doe murder victim from around the block. I would hope this group would have the academic integrity to do the same.
As for the DNA... per the article, the DNA would prove that it is indeed the remains of Lisa Gheradini (since the ID of her children's remains are not in doubt, they can compare these remains to that DNA to determine if they are the remains of their mother), not Mona Lisa. Once the identity of the remains are determined in this way, they will know if reconstructing her face will indeed produce the face of the woman theorized to be the model for the portrait. If an unbiased portrait is determined to be a reasonable match, then they can argue they have "proven" the identity of Mona Lisa. Is it iron-clad? Of course not. But it isn't as wishy-washy as you seem to think.
wow dig up a whole famlie and still feel good about it ...very sick indeed
This idea that the woman who has been the model for the Mona Lisa has been under discussion for centuries. e\Rven when we are dead, they will still be delving into the DaVinci codex