LONDON, Mar 19, 2010 / — A recently-discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting (sold in 2007 for $19,000, and now valued at £100 million) is being exhibited for the first time at a ground-breaking exhibition in Gothenburg.
The exhibition will feature some 50 original masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, da Vinci and other renaissance artists. Some of the works have never been shown in public before.
The exhibition: “And There Was Light, “will open its doors in Gothenburg, West Sweden, on 20 March. The recently-discovered painting, ‘La Bella Principessa’, which portrays a young woman in profile, was sold in 2007 to Canadian-born art collector Peter Silverman for $19,000.
Silverman had the piece tested and examined by experts after suspecting it was the work of a more prestigious painter. Techniques such as comparing finger prints confirmed Silverman’s suspicions, though nothing could have prepared him for the monumental discovery that was made. The painting is now valued at £100 million.
One of the experts to make the discovery was Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Tuscany and the artistic director of And There Was Light. In Gothenburg, he will work alongside Francesco Buranelli, the scientific director of the exhibition.
Throughout their lifetimes, the three masters were fierce rivals as they struggled to compete for both commissions and fame. 500 years later, this exhibition will “describe the relationship and rivalry between these three Italian Renaissance geniuses, how their lives were interwoven during the late 15th and early 16th centuries and how they and their apprentices have influenced art”, says Mr. Vezzosi.
The exhibition: “And There Was Light” is planned to be touring the world, starting in Gothenburg, Sweden on 20 March and on all until 15 August. The exhibition will be held in Eriksbergshallen, exhibition hall in a former shipyard area, on the northern banks of Gota River in central Gothenburg.
Tickets:
Tickets can be bought at the exhibition or on the website.
Tickets cost between SEK 100 and 225 depending on whether you are an adult, youth, pensioner or a student.
Children under 7 go free of charge accompanied by an adult.
Discount family tickets (2 adult + 2 youths) cost SEK 475.
Opening times 20th March – 15th August:
Weekdays: 10am to 9pm (until 6th June, Mondays are exclusively for school visits)
Saturday & Sunday: 10am to 8pm
See website for extra opening times for Easter and other holidays.
www.konstmuseum.goteborg.se
www.and-there-was-light.com
Photos by: Tommy Holl
