When the Winter Olympics begin in Italy next month, a mural by Leonardo da Vinci in the midst of restoration will go on view for five weeks staring February 7. That means visitors to Milan not preoccupied with sports like figure-skating and luge can set their eyes on an unfinished painting on the ceiling and a wall of Sforza Castle by a master for the ages.
As reported by Artnet News, “Visitors will be allowed to climb the towering 20-foot scaffold inside the castle’s Sala delle Asse to view conservators at work on Leonardo’s mural, after which it will be sealed off again for another 18 months, making this limited public access a rare opportunity to see it up close mid-restoration.”
Long covered with plaster, the painting was begun shortly before Milan was seized by France in 1499. After it was scrapped, “for the next several centuries, the castle was used for military purposes and the walls of the Sala delle Asse were painted over, the memory of the painting lost,” according to Artnet News.
The beginning of the original painting was discovered in the late 19th century. After more was uncovered in the 20th century, restoration is now underway to treat the work’s delicate tempura paint, with restorers “using Japanese rice paper with demineralized water to remove salts that have seeped into the walls to clean the surface of the painting.”
While the Olympics are on, guided tours will offer viewers an up-close look at restoration work nearing its completion, while a multimedia installation “will present the history of the Sala delle Asse and Leonardo’s role at the Sforza court.”
