Mona Lisa is Da Vinci's Self-Portrait, Says New Scientific Theory

Researchers plan to exhume the body of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519); the artist is thought to be buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert at the royal Château at Amboise in France's Loire Valley.

LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE — In this week's Mona Lisa news comes a story that even The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown would probably find far-fetched. Researchers from Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage have asked permission to exhume the remains of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) from his tomb in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert at the royal Château at Amboise in France's Loire Valley. The scientists believe that the Mona Lisa may actually be Leonardo da Vinci in disguise. The theory: if researchers can locate the artist's skull and use it to reconstruct his face, they may finally be able to identify the famous "lady".

“If we manage to find his skull, we could rebuild Leonardo’s face and compare it with the Mona Lisa,” said Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist from the committee.

Some scholars believe that the artist's presumed homosexuality and love of riddles led him to paint himself as a woman. But not all historians are so enthused by the plan.  

Nicholas Turner, a former curator of drawings at the Getty Museum, told the press, "It sounds a bit fanciful, slightly mad, as if the Leonardo bug has taken hold too firmly in the minds of these people. We know Mona Lisa was a specific person, she existed and it's her portrait," he said. "If Leonardo heard about all this, he would have a good chuckle."

The project could receive formal approval by summer 2010.

______

Mona Lisa is Da Vinci's Self-Portrait, Says New Scientific Theory