Leonardo Painting Termed a Solo Effort After All

Ah, modern technology. We curse it sometimes; other times, it can tell us something quite extraordinary that we might not otherwise realize.

Such is the case with the latest news out of the U.K. National Gallery, which has announced that experts believe that Leonardo painted the famed Virgin of the Rocks all by himself.

What's the big deal? Well, up until now, acute analysis of the painting has convinced experts that the variance in brush strokes and finality of shapes and structures meant that assistants had helped Leonardo with this one. But recent restoration has revealed more evidence in favor of the sole painter theory, especially given Leonardo's penchant for leaving things unfinished, as if he always had another element to add. (Is the Mona Lisa unfinished? Film at 11.)

The National Gallery is in the final stages of a 18-month restoration project. Among the other findings was a wider range of tone in the late-15th Century painting.

Also strengthening the claim is a 2005 finding from an infrared scan revealing a pair of unfinished drawings virtually hidden under what we know as the surface layer; one of these drawings provided proof that Leonardo indeed kept changing his mind as he painted.

All of this is, of course, right in line with the master's "sfumato" technique, which created, among other things, elements of illusion in the artworks. "Sfumato" is derived from sfumare, which is Italian for "to evaporate like smoke."

The London painting is one of two versions of this particular masterpiece. The earlier version hangs in the Louvre.

Purveyors of pop culture will remember that this painting featured in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.