Possible newly discovered Leonardo self-portrait goes on display in southern Italy

Susan Spano’s Postcards From Rome

A purported self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci that was recently discovered at a private library in the Basilicata region of southern Italy will be displayed for the first time in April and May at the Museo delle Antiche Genti di Lucania in the town of Vaglio di Basilicata near Potenza.

The portrait, formerly thought to depict Galileo, was brought to light by medieval historian Nicola Barbatelli, who recognized a Latin inscription on the back known to have been used by Leonardo. Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci in the artist’s hometown of Vinci near Florence, has been entrusted with the task of attempting to verify the painting’s provenance.The Vaglio di Basilicata exhibition, titled “Leonardo’s Portraits,” will also include 40 works from the Museo Ideale and background material on the various likenesses of the artist that have been handed down since his death in 1519.

Thus far, only one self-portrait of Leonardo has been authenticated, a red chalk drawing dated 1512 in the collection of Turin’s Biblioteca Reale.

Susan Spano, Times staff writer

[Photo: Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jerusalem]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 7:38 am by Susan Spano and is filed under Europe, Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.