The question about Leonardo Da Vinci's oldest painting

Although it is just a small square tile painted by Archangel Gabriel's hair-curling Archangel, it may also be the oldest surviving work of Leonardo da Vinci - Renaissance master.

If proven true, this glazed tile could help historians understand more about da Vinci in his youth, because this 1471-bearing work may in fact be a self-portrait of He - Da Vinci basically put his face on an angelic painting when he was 18 years old.

However, there are still many questions surrounding the authenticity of the painting. According to The Guardian, Martin Kemp, an honorary professor of art history at Oxford University and an expert on Leonardo da Vinci, immediately rejected the claim.'It is likely that Leonardo's work is very low, even smaller , ' Kemp said. 'Silly statements about Leonardo have never ended'.

However, the 8 x 8 inch square tile (about 20 x 20cm) can hold clues related to da Vinci, CNN quoted Ernesto Solari - an art historian and also a leather expert. Vinci; along with Ivana Rosa Bonfantino - an expert on handwritten texts. Both said the signature and date recorded on the angel's lower jaw - read 'Da Vinci Lionardo' with '1471' - seems very similar to da Vinci's handwriting.

Picture 1 of The question about Leonardo Da Vinci's oldest painting
The painting of the Archangel Gabriel was painted on a red-brown ceramic tile, thought to be of Leonardo da Vinci, and caused much skepticism.(Photo: EPA-EFE / Rex / Shutterstock).

Besides 1471, there are numbers 52 and 72. Of which, 52 can be referenced to 1452 (Leonardo's birth year) - Solari said, according to Frieze's Contemporary Art Journal. While 7 and 2 can be used to denote the letters ' G' and 'B' (G is the seventh character in the alphabet, and B is the second), in the name of the Archangel Gabriel. The numbers above, perhaps even more than a signature, are a good example of the famous conundrum that Da Vinci loved throughout his life - The Times quoted Solaris.

When analyzing handwriting, Bonfantino searched documents known to belong to da Vinci, including the letter he wrote to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este (1507) and signed the '1483' listed on the contract for the 'Virgin of the Rocks' painting - according to The Telegraph. Bonfantino found that the '1' in '1471' seemed to be lower than other figures, quite similar to da Vinci's previous works.

Origin of tile

During a press conference in Rome, Solari talked about how the descendants of the Fenice family - the Ravello aristocrat (Italy) found the ceramic tile. It was owned by the family since 1499, by Giovanna of Aragon - the duchess of Amalfi - donated. Even so, until recently, their families still didn't know much about the true origin of this artwork.'Fortunately, they happened to find the brick a little brighter than the other things while cleaning the house, and then called us " - CNN quoted Sorlaris.

Solari also added that the date-determination techniques used, including photoluminescence (often used to date ancient ceramics), supported the hypothesis that the tile was created around the Century. 15 - follow The Guardian.

Perhaps the tile was fired at the kiln owned by the grandfather da Vinci - Solari said. However, in 1471, the illegitimate child did not admit that Leonardo had left home (in Vinci) to attend a vocational training with sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, The Guardian said.

Today, most of da Vinci's artworks are kept in museum collections. However, some of them are individually owned. Just last year, a painting by da Vinci named 'Salvator Mundi' (Savior) was auctioned at Christie (New York, USA), closing at $ 450.3 million, making it a The world's most expensive painting ever sold.