New algorithm helps uncover forgotten figures beneath Da Vinci painting

Imperial and National Gallery researchers have used a new algorithm to help visualise hidden drawings beneath Leonardo Da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Imperial College London's Professor Pier Luigi Dragotti and National Gallery 's Dr Catherine Higgitt used the new algorithm combined with a technique called macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning, which maps chemical elements within paintings. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but such a great feeling to see the wings and head finally uncovered. Professor Pier Luigi Dragotti Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering In doing so they revealed, more clearly than ever before, the hidden figures that Leonardo first drew before changing his design to the one that he eventually painted. These included abandoned images of an angel and the Infant Christ. Professor Dragotti, of Imperial's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering , said: "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but such a great feeling to see the wings and head finally uncovered." When art meets science. Researchers at the National Gallery had already discovered, using infrared imaging, parts of Leonardo's initial drawings underneath the painting's surface, which included the Virgin in a different pose placed higher up on the panel.