Section:GDN 1N PaGe:3 Edition Date:190815 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 14/8/2019 20:57 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
3Thursday 15 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
News
Brought to light: Leonardo’s
original idea for masterpiece
Lanre Bakare
Arts and culture correspondent
More details of an “abandoned com-
position” by Leo nardo da Vinci have
been discovered below the surface of
one of his paintings , which is due to
take centre stage at a new exhibition at
the National Gallery in London.
The gallery, which is hosting the
“immersive exploration” of work by
the renaissance master, found the
unfi nished composition in the paint-
ing The Virgin of the Rocks, following
scientifi c research.
The researchers said the designs for
the infant Christ and angel within the
painting showed “signifi cant diff er-
ences to how they look in the fi nished
painting”.
A National Gallery spokesperson
said: “Why Leonardo abandoned
this fi rst composition still remains a
mystery. Handprints resulting from
patting down the priming on the panel
to create an even layer of more or less
uniform thickness can also be seen,
probably the work of an assistant but
perhaps even by Leonardo himself.”
A team of six experts began using
new imaging techniques on the com-
position in January.
As the artist’s lines had been drawn
with material containing zinc they
could be seen in macro X-ray fl uores-
cence (MA-XRF) maps, and through
infrared and hyperspectral imaging- the same technology that was used
by US Navy Seals to examine the com-
pound in Pakistan of the al-Qaida
leader in 2001, Osama bin Laden.
“Both fi gures are positioned higher
up in the drawing, while the angel,
facing out, is looking down on the
infant Christ with what appears to be
▲ Techniques
including use of
infrared imaging
have revealed
details of the
composition
below the surface
paint (left) of
Leonardo’s work
The Virgin of the
Rocks. A macro
XRF map, above,
highlighting zinc
lines, shows the
angel and baby
of the artist’s
original design
PHOTOGRAPH: PA/
NATIONAL GALLERYa much tighter embrace,” the gallery
spokesperson added.
The National Gallery’s new exhi-
bition of Leonardo’s work focuses
exclusively on The Virgin of the
Rocks, a work thought to have been
painted before 1508, and which origi-
nally stood as an altarpiece in a chapel
devoted to the Immaculate Concep-
tion of the Virgin Mary, in the church of
San Francesco Maggiore, Milan. It was
bought by the National Gallery in 1880.
The gallery’s ground-fl oor galleries
will be transformed into a space where
the painting can be examined; there
will be “multi-sensory experiences”
off ered in four rooms, including a
chapel-like environment to give a
sense of the original setting.
Gabriele Finaldi, the National
Gallery’s director , said the exhibition
would give “visitors the opportunity
to explore Leonardo da Vinci’s creative
process in making this masterpiece”.
The gallery’s head of conservation,
Larry Keith, said that there could be
more discoveries as the team contin-
ued to look for more changes.
The exhibition has been created
with 59 Productions, which worked
on the V&A’s David Bowie exhibition
in 2013. “It’s somewhere between an
exhibition and an experience,” said
Richard Slaney, managing director of
59 Productions. “Da Vinci’s view of
the world meant he was fascinated
at looking deeply into anything that
interested him. And, by giving people
the chance to refocus on one painting,
we’re allowing people to do the same
thing. It slows things down and people
can focus on one idea.”
Slaney said each room would pre-
sent various aspects of the painting
before The Virgin of the Rocks was
revealed entirely at the end.
“This is scholarly research turned
into an experience that feels theatri-
cal. You’re learning by seeing rather
than r eading a paper.”
Researchers discovered in 2005 that
the Virgin’s pose in the painting had
been altered , and in 2008 restoration
work began on the painting, which
involved cleaning away some of the
varnish applied in the 1940s.Nepal to bar
inexperienced
climbers from
Everest after
deadly season
Peter BeaumontClimbers seeking a permit for Everest
must have high-altitude mountain-
eering experience and demonstrable
training, a Nepalese government com-
mission recommended yesterday.
It had been asked to look at the issue
of high mountain safety after one of
the deadliest seasons in recent years
on Everest, blamed both on inexperi-
ence and crowding near the summit.
Eleven climbers were killed or went
missing on the 8,848 metre mountain
in May – nine on the Nepalese side, two
on the Tibetan side.
The Nepal ese panel – made up of
government offi cials and climbing rep-
resentatives – was set up after criticism
of the current system, where anyone
who pays £9,000 can climb Ever-
est. Veteran guiding companies have
long warned of the dangerous conse-
quences of inexperience and crowds
on the summit slopes.
“Climbers to [Everest] and other
8,000-metre mountains must undergo
basic and high-altitude climbing
training,” the panel said in a report
submitted to the government.
The report stipulated that those
hoping to climb Everest must have
climbed at least one Nepal ese peak
above 6,500 metres. Climbers must
also submit a certifi cate of good health
and physical fi tness, and be accom-
panied by a trained Nepal ese guide.
Mira Acharya, a panel member ,
said “climbers died due to altitude
sickness, heart attack, exhaustion
or weaknesses and not due to traffi c
jams”. She said the compulsory pro-
vision of guides for each climber was
to discourage solo attempts which put
lives at risk.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s
14 highest mountains and climbing is a
key source of employment and income
for the cash-strapped nation.
But the numbers attempting the
Everest climb in May led to bottlenecks
in the so-called death zone, where
there are very low oxygen levels. That
put lives at risk as oxygen cylinders ran
out while up to 100 people queued.
Simon Lowe, the managing director
of UK-based Jagged Globe, said that
this year’s crowding had exacerbated
an underlying issue of lack of experi-
ence. “That is incompetent climbers
being led by incompetent teams,”
Lowe said. “ If you go up with a bare
minimum bottles of supplementary
oxygen and stand in a queue for ages
that is going to cause problems.”
Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, a sen-
ior tourism ministry offi cial, said the
recommendations would be imple-
mented. “The government will now
make the required changes in laws and
regulations guiding mountain climb-
ing,” he told Reuters.
However Nepal has not always
followed through on past recommen-
dations related to its highest peaks.▲ The National Gallery’s ‘immersive’
show features The Virgin of the RocksРЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS