Portrait of Bianca Sforza, "la Bella Principessa", Leonardo(?), ca.1496

The controversy over the Bella Principessa takes a fascinating turn as Martin Kemp uncovers, in Poland, what appears to be the 15th-century codex from which this page was torn. Binding marks on the left edge of the page of vellum match the position of stitching in the handcrafted book.

If true, as true it seems, this announcement would seem to put to rest the claim by Christie’s and assorted connoisseurs that this is a 19th-century German pastiche or a 20th-century forgery rather than an authentic early modern work possibly from the hand of Leonardo.

See H. Niyazi’s overview for details of the attribution history and attending issues.