On the heals of cooling conspiracy theories surrounding the ubiquitous The Da Vinci Code comes an unfolding real-life mystery concerning a secret that may actually be hidden in Leonardo’s masterpiece, The Last Supper. If true, it would be a signature touch by the Renaissance genius.
Discovered by an Italian computer technician, it’s a piece of music that resembles a requiem. According to Giovanni Maria Pala, the hands of Jesus and the Apostles, and the loaves of bread in the picture, represent musical notes which together form a 40-second composition. He says he made the discovery after superimposing a musical staff - the five lines used in sheet music - over that portion of the painting. The composition emerges when the “notes” are read right to left, following Leonardo’s own technique.
Pala published his findings earlier this month in the book La Musica Celata (which translates to “The Hidden Music”) in which he claims to have discovered nothing less than a sacred hymn and text, along with mystic symbols, in da Vinci’s degraded masterpiece.
The findings, explained in a Discovery article that includes video footage, are sure to spark renewed controversy.