Physicist Hunts Lost da Vinci Mural
April 13, 2012
Argonne National Laboratory Senior Physicist Robert Smither has irons in many different fires.
"I get into astrophysics, I get into biology, I’ve actually worked with America’s Cup team to make their boat go faster," he says.
He's also an expert in "crystal diffraction," a precision x-ray process which filters neutron radiation through a lens to help create an image, just like a camera. The technique has given the human eye a new perspective on distant star systems, radioactivity hotpots around the world and cancerous tumors in the human body.
But now Smither has joined a research team that is trying to shed light on one of the art world’s oldest mysteries.
In 1505, Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci reportedly produced a large painting, known as the “Battle of Anghiari,” on a wall in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. But to the naked eye, no such artwork can be seen there. The location of the mural, which depicts four horsemen in battle, has perplexed art lovers for more than five-hundred years.
Those still searching for the lost masterpiece looked to Smithers: Could his 21st-century technology help solve the puzzle?
"'Can you look through a brick wall?'[they asked], and I said 'yes.'"
Researchers believe a late-16th century brick wall constructed by the artist Vasari, who painted the frescoes now visible in halls of Palazzo Vecchio, stands in front of the lost mural.
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