Forensic fingerprint analysis identifies new painting as Leonardo Da Vinci’s self portrait.

Forensic fingerprint analysis identifies new painting as Leonardo Da Vinci’s self portrait.


Through a series of detailed forensic investigations, an international team of forensic art experts believe that a newly uncovered Renaissance painting is in fact a rare portrait of artist Leonardo Da Vinci and evidence has identified that it could possibly have been painted by his own hand.

Professor David Bershad, of St. Mary's University College in Calgary, told CTV's Canada AM that there are strong suggestions that the 500-year-old oil-on-wood painting discovered last year in southern Italy is a self-portrait of Leonardo.

One of the best clues is a centuries-old fingerprint scientists uncovered on the back of the oil-on-wood painting, Bershad said.

"The fingerprint analysis is particularly exciting. They discovered a thumbprint on the new portrait which is identical to the thumbprint on Leonardo's painting entitled ‘Lady with an Ermine'," he said.

"That thumbprint establishes at least that both paintings were in Leonardo's studio. Unfortunately artists didn't leave their thumb or finger(prints) for art historians so that we could be absolutely sure that it was Leonardo's."

But when the thumb print is combined with other evidence, Bershad said it makes a compelling case that the painting was a self-portrait by Leonardo.

"This is going to be an extraordinary event," he said. "It would be probably the only self-portrait by Leonardo."

Scientists confirmed the painting was the correct age and also discovered writing on its back saying "Pinxit Mea" (Latin for "My Picture"), in Leonardo's characteristic backwards handwriting, identified through a forensic handwriting analysis of Leonardo’s signature handwriting on other pieces of artwork.

Bershad said the ink from that writing was tested and the handwriting compared to known samples of Leonardo's writing and again it matched up.

"I think optimistically perhaps that this is going to turn out to be at least a portrait of Leonardo," Bershad said. "Whether or not it's by Leonardo's own hand I'm still reserved about."

If the painting does prove to be a self-portrait of the great artist, which would make it virtually priceless, Bershad says the entire team of forensic scientists deserve the credit.

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