Da Vinci Sketch Hidden Under Painting

LONDON (AP) -- Experts at London's National Gallery said on Friday they had discovered a new Leonardo Da Vinci picture, hidden underneath another painting by the Italian master.

This is the first time a new Da Vinci has been discovered since the 1930s, when the "Ginevra de' Benci'' and "The Madonna of the Carnation'' were attributed to him.

Experts using infrared techniques found the sketch hidden beneath the delicate brushstrokes of Da Vinci's "The Virgin on the Rocks,'' a powerful study of Christ's mother in a rather gloomy cavern that hangs in the National Gallery.

The sketch shows a woman with one hand clutched to her breast, the other outstretched, kneeling before what experts say was planned to be an infant Jesus in a scene popular with Renaissance artists.

The experts believe the artist was planning a picture of the adoration of the Christ child, but changed his mind.

"It came as a complete surprise to finding the sketch,'' said Rachel Billinge, research associate in the conservation department of the National Gallery. "We had no idea until we studied the painting that there was anything under there.''

The National Gallery's "Virgin On The Rocks'' is the artist's own copy of a painting that now hangs in the Louvre gallery in Paris, and National Gallery experts were using infrared techniques to find out how the copy had been made when they found the sketch.

A confraternity of the Roman Catholic church commissioned Da Vinci to paint "The Virgin On The Rocks'' to decorate an altarpiece in a Milan chapel in 1483.

"When Da Vinci completed the first painting, he was so pleased with it that he asked for more money, and when this was refused, he sold it privately,'' said Billinge. The artist later agreed to paint another picture, and probably started with the newly found sketch, but was persuaded to make a copy of the original "Virgin On The Rocks,'' she added.

The second version, which now hangs in the National Gallery, was placed in the chapel in 1508.

Critics argue over what "The Virgin On The Rocks'' actually shows. Some claim it is the Immaculate Conception, while others believe it is the first time Jesus met John the Baptist.

The painting and what's underneath can be seen here.

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