The oil painting was discovered by Nicola Barbatelli, a medieval historian, while he was studying the picture collection of a family in Acerenza in southern Italy. While it was previously thought to portray the astronomer Galileo Galilei, Mr Barbatelli claims that the picture represents the Renaissance genius in middle age. While the authenticity of the picture is yet to be confirmed by experts, da Vinci is believed to have visited the region. The Acerenza portrait also resembles a figure in Raphael’s School of Athens in the Vatican which is also thought to represent da Vinci. Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci, has said that a preliminary examination of the Acerenza painting showed it was a Renaissance-era original and not a copy.

Tags: sfumato-fumo, leonardo da vinci paintings, in, and, Leonardo Da Vinci Paintings, famous drawings, famous artist, of