Giorgio Vasari - Perserver of Genius Art?

Giorgio Vasari was commissioned to complete the frescoes on the walls of the Salone dei Cinquecento (The Hall of 500) in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Originally Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were commissioned to do the project. Michelangelo only made a cartoon (a mock up sketch on paper) that was then stolen. Leonardo began his fresco, only for it to be damaged in a fire and left unfinished.

Peter Paul Ruben's drawing of The Battle of Anghiari c. 1603
Image courtesy of markldiaz on Flickr Creative Commons

Despite the damage to Leonardo’s fresco, called The Battle of Anghiari, was and is still considered a masterwork. During the period between Leonardo abandoning the project and Vasari taking up the commission, every aspiring artist travelled to Florence to practice their craft, which included making a drawing after Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari.

Many art historians believe that Vasari did not destroy Leonardo’s unfinished masterpiece by creating his new frescoes over it but rather preserved it in some way. Current research has shown that rather than painting on the original wall, Vasari built a new wall in front of the old one leaving only a few centimeters between the new one and the original. He also wrote on a flag held by a flag-bearer in the fresco that lies on that new wall, “Cerca Trova” (Search and Find) furthering the idea that Leonardo’s work is still there to be found. Art historians, conservers, and scientists  have been working together to determine whether Leonardo’s work lies behind Vasari’s and have come up with some really interesting results. By drilling tiny holes in Vasari’s fresco they have gained access to the original wall and some paint pigments that suggest Leonardo’s work is on the wall behind.

Detail of Vasari's The Battle of Marciano 

Based on my knowledge of Vasari, his respect for Leonardo and his belief of the artist as a genius (see previous post), I believe it to be more than possible that Vasari couldn’t bring himself to cover over Leonardo’s work and that he left it intact to be found and marveled over.  

For more information about the search of the Lost Leonardo please watch the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH1IomCUaIQ&feature=share