A forensics examiner has found on this portrait a fingerprint that is "highly comparable" to one found on a verified da Vinci from a time period when he worked without assistants. The style of the painting is also compatible with its being a da Vinci, because the cross-hatching has apparently been done by a left-handed artist. The portrait, which measures 13ins by 9ins, was sold at Christie's in New York in 1998, in an Old Master Drawings sale as a Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress.
It was catalogued as "German, early 19th century", with an estimate of $12,000 to 16,000, and went under the hammer for $19,000 (£12,039).
If it is accepted as a da Vinci work, its value will rise to the tens of millions of dollars. More details at the BBC article.
Shouldn't the artist be referred to as simply Leonardo, rather than "from Vinci"? Otherwise, it would be comparable to calling Michelangelo "from Rome."
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