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Never before seen symbols were found in the eyes of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa! Dan Brown just wet himself.
Art historians were directed towards the enigmatic lady’s eyes when a member of Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage stumbled upon (or was led from another clue!??!) a 50-year-old book in an antique shop that suggested the Mona Lisa’s eyes contained hidden symbols.
(Read about Vincenzo Peruggia – the man who walked right past Louvre security with the Mona Lisa stashed in his smock)
Upon examination under microscope, historians found the letters ‘LV’ carved in her right eye, presumably for the initials of the artist. The left eye isn’t as clear. Guesses as to some of the scratches are the letters CE, the letter B, the number 72 or the combo L2. Researchers have not ruled out the possibility that it says ‘LOL, gotcha.’
The revelations could mean historians have unlocked a clue in a tangled web of Renaissance intrigue and mystery. Or it could be nothing, since the painting is more than 500 years old and the symbols are microscopic.
(Did the Mona Lisa suffer from high cholesterol?)
The number and letter discoveries beg questions of the portrait, but they’re just one in a list of mysteries surrounding the smiling lady, mostly focused on who the subject is and the reason behind her unusual expression. There aren’t any conclusive answers to those questions, but speculation is high.
Some experts believe she was a member of the Italian royalty that da Vinci was commissioned to paint, da Vinci’s mother, or the wife of a Florentine merchant. Others believe it’s a female likeness of da Vinci himself, and are asking the French for the rights to exhume the artist, use his skull to recreate his face and determine whether the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait. Sounds like a job for Tom Hanks.(via The Telegraph)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCK0AQ4tYYU&w=450]