It's All In The Eyes
December 13, 2010 11:18 PM Subscribe
Italian art historian Silvano Vinceti says he has discovered tiny letters painted in the eyes of the Mona Lisa.
According to Vinceti, these are the initials of Leonardo himself (LV, painted in the right pupil) and those of the true model for the piece. Except that of course he can't figure out whether the letters in the left pupil are B and S, or perhaps C and E.
My hypothesis? The letters are L, V, C, and E. LVCE = LUCE = "light". Because I choose to believe that Leonardo da Vinci liked puns.
Thoughts? Guesses? Theories? Or would you prefer to use this space to complain about Dan Brown, Leonardo, art historians, cryptology, etc?
According to Vinceti, these are the initials of Leonardo himself (LV, painted in the right pupil) and those of the true model for the piece. Except that of course he can't figure out whether the letters in the left pupil are B and S, or perhaps C and E.
My hypothesis? The letters are L, V, C, and E. LVCE = LUCE = "light". Because I choose to believe that Leonardo da Vinci liked puns.
Thoughts? Guesses? Theories? Or would you prefer to use this space to complain about Dan Brown, Leonardo, art historians, cryptology, etc?
This post was deleted for the following reason: Crappy pop science reporting with no actual details is not great stuff for a post. -- cortex
What's more shocking is that the letters appear to be in Papyrus, indicating that the font is even more overused than was previously believed.
posted by fatbird at 11:27 PM on December 13, 2010 [20 favorites]
posted by fatbird at 11:27 PM on December 13, 2010 [20 favorites]
"He said that while researching the model's identity he had been inspired by a 1960s book by a French art historian, which mentions the letters in her eyes."
Couldn't any two vertical paint strokes be interpreted as the letter V? If one is a bit less vertical, then you have an L.
If he found a G or a B I'd be more impressed.
posted by eye of newt at 11:32 PM on December 13, 2010
Couldn't any two vertical paint strokes be interpreted as the letter V? If one is a bit less vertical, then you have an L.
If he found a G or a B I'd be more impressed.
posted by eye of newt at 11:32 PM on December 13, 2010
If it's Papyrus, I will have to reevaluate my respect for Da Vinci.
'Cause fuck Papyrus.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:32 PM on December 13, 2010
'Cause fuck Papyrus.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:32 PM on December 13, 2010
I'm surprised art historians have never looked closely at the bit just under her hairline at the back, as I did when visiting The Louvre. It says 'Made in Taiwan'.
posted by Abiezer at 11:33 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Abiezer at 11:33 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm with RobotVoodooPower... I dug around the news sites yesterday when I first read about this.
The initial report is an AP wire and a bunch of "well fancy that!" articles were published in free UK tabloids, along with sentences such as 'the letters can be "seen with a magnifying glass"', but nobody has published a picture.
The Guardian was the only reputable paper I found reporting on it at the time.
posted by panaceanot at 11:34 PM on December 13, 2010
The initial report is an AP wire and a bunch of "well fancy that!" articles were published in free UK tabloids, along with sentences such as 'the letters can be "seen with a magnifying glass"', but nobody has published a picture.
The Guardian was the only reputable paper I found reporting on it at the time.
posted by panaceanot at 11:34 PM on December 13, 2010
Surprisingly, the letters read "SOY BOMB."
posted by msalt at 11:35 PM on December 13, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by msalt at 11:35 PM on December 13, 2010 [4 favorites]
What's more shocking is that the letters appear to be in Papyrus, indicating that the font is even more overused than was previously believed.
Nope, not Papyrus... LV CE.
posted by phunniemee at 11:36 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nope, not Papyrus... LV CE.
posted by phunniemee at 11:36 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
It says "Dan Brown is a hack"
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 11:37 PM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 11:37 PM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
I was convinced until my initial excitement caused me to lean forward, thereby spilling my coffee and breaking the mug on the floor. Inscribed on the broken porcelain was the word 'LUCE'. I raced out of the Louvre, but Vinceti had already disappeared into the crowd...
posted by mannequito at 11:37 PM on December 13, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 11:37 PM on December 13, 2010 [4 favorites]
Micrography in another, equally ridiculous context.
posted by clarknova at 11:45 PM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by clarknova at 11:45 PM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
TIME?
posted by clavdivs at 11:47 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 11:47 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Vinceti said that the letters B or S, or possibly the initials CE, were discernible, a vital clue to identifying the model who sat for the Renaissance artist.
Cripes. Talk about hedging yer bets. Slow news day, I guess. My theory is that people see patterns where none exist.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 11:49 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Cripes. Talk about hedging yer bets. Slow news day, I guess. My theory is that people see patterns where none exist.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 11:49 PM on December 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Except that of course he can't figure out whether the letters in the left pupil are B and S, or perhaps C and E.
My vote's for BS.
posted by brundlefly at 11:54 PM on December 13, 2010 [7 favorites]
My vote's for BS.
posted by brundlefly at 11:54 PM on December 13, 2010 [7 favorites]
There are five NINAs in the Mona Lisa. You can tell because it says "DaVinci4" in the signature.
posted by jet_silver at 12:11 AM on December 14, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by jet_silver at 12:11 AM on December 14, 2010 [3 favorites]
IF YOU'RE READING THIS, YOU'RE STANDING TOO CLOSE TO THE PAINTING
posted by fight or flight at 12:21 AM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by fight or flight at 12:21 AM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
LUCE? It's a reference to Da Vinci's knowledge of Nostradamus' earliest prediction -"Aspiring kings across the sea shall rise more formidably through commerce, by showering awe upon their countrymen, yet delivering only spectacle, as truth's relevance diminishes."
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:13 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:13 AM on December 14, 2010
The year 55, Christian Era
posted by jet_manifesto at 2:17 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by jet_manifesto at 2:17 AM on December 14, 2010
What's more shocking is that the letters appear to be in Papyrus, indicating that the font is even more overused than was previously believed.
Curiously, scans reveal that the underlying cartoon had the letters sketched in Comic Sans.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:21 AM on December 14, 2010
Curiously, scans reveal that the underlying cartoon had the letters sketched in Comic Sans.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:21 AM on December 14, 2010
Drink More Ovaltine.
posted by marxchivist at 3:39 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by marxchivist at 3:39 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Fools. It is... L.H.O.O.Q.
posted by R. Mutt at 3:44 AM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by R. Mutt at 3:44 AM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
Maybe he was covertly trying to convey the sexual characteristics of the sitter?
posted by crunchland at 3:50 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by crunchland at 3:50 AM on December 14, 2010
Awesome, more traffic to jezebel.com.
Would love a moratorium on links to Gawker sites for the next ... oh ... forever or two.
posted by Alt F4 at 3:56 AM on December 14, 2010
Would love a moratorium on links to Gawker sites for the next ... oh ... forever or two.
posted by Alt F4 at 3:56 AM on December 14, 2010
The letters don't spell anything - it is an early paint by numbers painting.
posted by Bort at 4:39 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Bort at 4:39 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
The letters were actually put there by an Agent of the Brotherhood of Assassins, in order to draw the viewer's attention to a very small point while he OH GOD HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:42 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:42 AM on December 14, 2010
So, we're reduced to posting stuff that is pretty meaningless, probably not true, and based on vapors just so we can make snarky remarks about it.
This isn't an FPP, it's the internet version of a George Burns straight line so Gracie can make a joke.
posted by HuronBob at 4:58 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
This isn't an FPP, it's the internet version of a George Burns straight line so Gracie can make a joke.
posted by HuronBob at 4:58 AM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Carl Zeiss LENS F 1.0 - 3.2 CYBERNETICS directed by K.K. Made in Germany
posted by BeerFilter at 5:22 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by BeerFilter at 5:22 AM on December 14, 2010
I'm going to go ahead and say this is bullshit, based on nothing but the fact that every new discovery about the Mona Lisa is.
posted by empath at 5:38 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by empath at 5:38 AM on December 14, 2010
This isn't an FPP, it's the internet version of a George Burns straight line so Gracie can make a joke.
That poor model...imagine someone putting tiny initials on your eyeballs just so someone could paint them!
posted by mikepop at 5:55 AM on December 14, 2010
Was this da Vinci's way of making it copyrightable and therefore not eligible for sale overseas?
posted by aught at 6:01 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by aught at 6:01 AM on December 14, 2010
Also, jokes aside, isn't this another attention-seeking stunt by one of the team also proposing to dig up da Vinci so they can reconstruct his facial features and prove the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait in drag (scroll down)?
posted by aught at 6:08 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by aught at 6:08 AM on December 14, 2010
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posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:24 PM on December 13, 2010 [2 favorites]