A Montreal-based forensic art investigator says a fingerprint he found on what was presumed to be a modestly valued, 19th-century German painting of a young woman has convinced leading experts that it’s actually an original portrait by Italian master Leonardo da Vinci worth up to $150 million.
The painting of the woman in profile – now identified as La Bella Principessa and believed to have been created around 1496 by the legendary Renaissance artist – was reportedly purchased by the Europe-based Canadian art collector Peter Silverman in 2007 for about $19,000.
The discovery would represent the first new attribution of a painting to da Vinci in more than 100 years.
"The fingerprint, believed to be of Leonardo’s middle or index finger, was found in the upper right hand corner of the painting and matched to a Leonardo print from his painting of St. Jerome in the Vatican," said Peter Paul Biro, director of forensics with Art Access and Research in Montreal, in a statement.
"The print on the painting of St. Jerome is especially significant because the painting comes from a period when Leonardo was understood not to employ any assistants – meaning that the print is almost certainly Leonardo’s."
Biro called the find a "great success" for his company and "further evidence of the growing importance of scientific techniques in the art world."
The stunning re-identification of the painting was first reported Monday by the London-based Antiques Trade Gazette, which quoted Martin Kemp, emeritus professor of art history at Oxford University, saying: "It all sounded too good to be true – after 40 years in the Leonardo business, I thought I’d seen it all."
But, after examining the painting and the fingerprint evidence obtained by Biro, Kemp said: "All the bits fell into place like a well-made piece of furniture. All the drawers slotted in."
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