Leonardo’s Skull

By Robert George

On the morning of the second of May, 1519, Leonardo Da Vinci, unquestionably the greatest of geniuses in the intellectually congested Renaissance, was laid to rest in a churchyard on the castle grounds of Amboise, the fortress/estate of Francis the first, the reigning king of France. Francis, an ardent admirer of Leonardo’s artistic and scientific achievements, had invited the Maestro to Amboise where he was to serve as the king’s production designer for court events. For this service Leonardo was given quarters in the magnificent manor house Le Clos Luce within the castle grounds, together with servants and room and board for life.

In 1517, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right arm, thus ending his phenomenal artistic career. Even though he was preferentially left-handed, his spirit was broken. His notebooks and last paintings were left in his will to his devoted disciple Francesco Melzi, all except his beloved Mona Lisa. His modest funeral procession was attended by a few remaining house servants, caretakers, priests, townspeople whom he had befriended, and of course, Melzi.

In the following centuries, his burial ground was desecrated by a succession of wars, notably the Huguenot uprising and the French Revolution, and the inevitable grave robbers. His remains became commingled and scattered. Several attempts were made by an eclectic group of Da Vinciophiles to gather what might plausibly be Leonardo’s bones. Some, including a relatively large skull, were so anointed and were transferred to the newly reconstructed and rechristened Chapel of Saint-Hubert — to this day Leonardo’s shrine.

On the floor of the chapel is a tableau with an inscription stating that herein might possibly repose the remains of Leonardo Da Vinci. But no one could really tell . . . until now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984533012

Robert George

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Robert George received his MS degree in gross anatomy from the Medical College of Virginia and his PhD in physical anthropology from the University of Washington. After completing his dissertation on the origin of primates from Paleocene insectivores, he began a peripatetic career teaching anatomy and kindred subjects in several medical schools, including Brown University, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Kuwait University, University of Chicago, University of South Carolina, and Central Caribbean University in Puerto Rico. He now teaches medical and orthopedic anatomy at Florida International University in Miami. Dr. George’s research interests have gradually shifted from comparative primate anatomy to forensic anthropology with a specialty in forensic facial approximation, a key subject of this book. His memberships in professional societies have included the American Association of Anatomists, the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Craniofacial Identification, and Mensa/Intertel. When not teaching, consulting, or approximating, he enjoys writing fiction, portraiture, and has a passion for caricaturing.

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LEONARDO’S SKULL

Robert George

Copyright © 2018 by Robert George.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2018906569

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-9845-3299-2

                             Softcover                         978-1-9845-3300-5

                             eBook                               978-1-9845-3301-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 06/27/2018

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CONTENTS

Prologue

The Skull

The Map

Vasari

The Portraits

Staff Meeting

Leonardo’s Face

The Antrum Of Da Vinci

Staff Meeting

The Teeth

Milan

The Melzi Archive

The Monograph And The Replicas

Amboise

Epilogue

Dedicated to the myriad true Da Vinci scholars throughout the world.

PROLOGUE

On the morning of the second of May in the year 1519, Leonardo Da Vinci, unquestionably the greatest of geniuses in the intellectually congested Renaissance, was laid to rest in a churchyard on the castle grounds of Amboise, the fortress/estate of Francis the First, the reigning king of France. Francis, an ardent admirer of Leonardo’s artistic and scientific achievements, had invited the Maestro to Amboise where he was to serve as the king’s production designer for court events. For this service Leonardo was given quarters in the magnificent manor house, Le Clos Luce, within the castle grounds together with servants and room and board for life.

In 1517 he suffered a stroke which paralyzed his right arm, thus ending his phenomenal artistic career. Even though he was preferentially left-handed, his spirit was broken. His notebooks and last paintings were left in his will to his devoted disciple, Francesco Melzi, all except his beloved Mona Lisa. His modest funeral procession was attended by a few remaining house servants, caretakers, priests, townspeople whom he had befriended and of course, Melzi.

In the following centuries, his burial ground was desecrated by a succession of wars, notably the Huguenot uprising and the French Revolution, and the inevitable grave robbers. His remains became commingled and scattered. Several attempts were made by eclectic groups of Da Vinciophiles to gather what might plausibly be Leonardo’s bones. Some, including a relatively large skull, were so designated and were transferred to the newly reconstructed and rechristened Chapel of Saint-Hubert; to this day Leonardo’s shrine.

On the floor of the chapel is a tableau with an inscription stating that herein might possibly repose the remains of Leonardo Da Vinci. But no one can really tell…

THE SKULL

B1.tif

Fig. B-1 Leonardo’s Skull (photograph by Tom Bassett)

B3.tif

Fig. B-3 Leonardo’s Skull (photograph by Tom Bassett)

B2.tif

Fig. B-2 Leonardo’s Skull (Illustration by Barbara Tanaka)

B4.tif

Fig. B-4 Leonardo’s Skull (Illustration by Barbara Tanaka)

Devoid of flesh, a skull has a natural sardonic grin. It has to do with the occlusal plane of the teeth. It tilts upward distally. The skull resting in the fruit bowl on the conference room table was almost chortling.

Dr. Alexander Raven — variously known to our museum staff as the Director, the Boss, the Raven, or Alexander the Great — got our impromptu meeting started with a bang. Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for attending on such short notice. This morning I had a remarkable meeting with Dr. Jennifer Carter. She’s the curator of Renaissance Art at the National Gallery. She arrived at ten o’clock, and after exchanging obligatory introductions, she removed this skull from a hat box and asked what I could make of it.

Dr. Raven never spoke like an ordinary person when chairing a meeting. Every time he addressed a group, I could hear him trying out phrases that would fit a written report. Listening to him could be a slightly bizarre experience. I always wondered where his script was.

Happy to assist a fellow curator I put on my reading glasses. A cursory examination revealed it to be the cranium of a male of European ancestry, most likely between fifty and seventy years of age at the time of death. The cause of death was probably blunt force trauma to the right parietal area which sports a gaping rectangular hole with no signs of healing. Some teeth are missing and one of the molars appears to have an occlusal gold filling. Several cusps are worn and portions of the maxillary alveolar process show advanced stages of periodontitis. I handed the skull back to Dr. Carter who looked at it intensely for a few moments and then said, ‘Dr. Raven, I have reason to believe that this is the skull of Leonardo Da Vinci.’ Dr. Raven paused impressively, watching our various reactions.

That was a sentence I never expected to hear and it left me as speechless as a mute in a vacuum chamber, he continued, assured of our interest. "After a polite pause she explained that the