11 Oct FoodForThought:TheMonaLisa
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AFTER STARING AT THE MONA LISA<,MANKIND DISCOVERS…
Italian Musician Finds Hidden Song in Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
by Erin Barkley in News / November 10th, 2007
An Italian musician has uncovered evidence of a hidden song in the details of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famed “Mona Lisa”, igniting a worldwide race to see what other paintings by the Renaissance master might have secret tunes embedded in them.
“It was plain as day in the infrared scans,” said Giovanni Constantina in his offices outside Rome, “Tiny musical notes scattered all over the canvas, laying out a very simple but evocative theme… buried in the cracks and daubs of the paint. I personally didn’t see it until my third bottle of Merlot, so it’s no surprise it’s been hidden all this time.”
Painted from 1492 to 1494, the “Mona Lisa” has also come into the news recently as evidence mounts that the subtle smile on the face of the iconic woman may have once been a pouty mouth, that was eventually over-painted. Constantina said that it was the recent break-up with his girlfriend that lead to the binge-drinking and Mona Lisa-adoration that lead to his discovery: “I needed someone to keep me company, and what do you know? She was singing me a song!”
Constantina’s discovery has prompted other musicians to search for music in Da Vinci’s broader works. Just last week, another Italian composer, Giovanni Maria Pala, found a second song in “The Last Supper”, which Constantina describes as “a real downer”. Indeed, the genius painter seems to have been in a more sombre mood when painting that other work, rather than the peppy, up-tempo one found in the “Mona Lisa”.
Also included in the painting are apparent lyrics to the song, which are written in Da Vinci’s own secret code. PTTBT consulted famed cryptographer and Da Vinci expert Dale McMaster, who helped translate the song as thus:
Oops
I did it again
I played with your heart, got lost in the game
Oh baby, baby
Oops
You think I’m in love
That I’m sent from above
I’m not that innocent.
Experts at the Da Vinci Institute at the University of Milan refused comment, citing personal devastation and impending substance abuse.