This painting, which was sold in auction as "German, Early 19th Century" has gone from being worth $19,000 to millions overnight. The new owner who won it decided to give the painting a thorough checkup, whereupon a fingerprint was found. It matched another found on a confirmed da Vinci portrait.
Peter Silverman, the Canadian-born owner, thought there was more to it and decided to get the drawing checked out after buying it in 2007.
His hunch appears to have paid off.
A Paris laboratory discovered that a fingerprint from the tip of an index or middle-finger, found on the top left of the picture, was "highly comparable" to one found on da Vinci's work St Jerome, which he painted early in his career when he did not have assistants, according to the Antiques Trade Gazette.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by dontyoukeep.
NOW. UNTIL NOW WE DO NOT HAVE THE LAW FOR THAT. WE NEED NEW ART LAW. THE ART " EXPERTS " DID NOT WANT THAT FOR A LONG TIME. THEY ARE UNMORAL PEOPLE.
LIERS !!!!!
THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT ART AT ALL. AND THEY NEVER , NEVER TELL THE TRUTH !!!!!!!!
ALL OF THEM ARE UNMORAL PEOPLE. WHY THEY ARE IN ART ?
HOW WE CAN HAVE FORENSICE EXPERTISE FOR ONE CUP BY THE LAW BUT NOT FOR A PAINTING !?
IF SOMEONE STOLE YOUR CAR YOU CAN HAVE CRIME EXPERTISE BUT NOT FOR YOUR PAINTING !!!?? THEY MADE THAT , THE IDIOTIC " EXPERTS ". THEY KEEP DEPRIVING PEOPLE OF THEY PROPERTY WITH THEY " OPINIONS ".
idiot. with the fingerprints we do not have
sold paintings because of people with no MORAL like you. There is no LAW FOR THAT. THEY DID NOT WANT THAT LAW FOR SO MANY YEARS !!!???
BUT NOW WE ARE GOING TO MAKE THIS NEW LAW. AND THE IDIOTS " EXPERTS " CAN GO TO .......
@ Ashley
That would certainly suck wouldn't it! ;)