Leonardo da Vinci definitely did not sculpt the Flora bust

Phys dot org ^ | April 16, 2021 | CNRS

[SunkenCiv]

"It is machination, it is deception," said the director general of the Berlin Royal Museums in his defense when criticized for buying a fake. Wilhelm Bode did not budge an inch: The sculpture he acquired in 1909 was an as-yet unknown production of the great Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci.

After 100 years and numerous controversies, a group of scientists led by a CNRS researcher has just proven him wrong once and for all. The Flora wax bust, conserved at the Bode Museum in Berlin, recently underwent radiocarbon (14C) dating, which provided both a precise date and an incontrovertible result: It was made in the 19th century, nearly 300 years after da Vinci's death.

As the sculpture was made primarily from spermaceti, a kind of wax extracted from whales, the researchers had to develop a new calibration method to accurately date the work of art.

Their results, which were published on 15 April 2021 in Scientific Reports, show how 14C dating can be applied to unusual materials.

[SunkenCiv]

Flora (1589) Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Milan, 1526-1593)

[Red Badger]

[tsomer]

That was brilliant and I learned a new word!
Thanks

[Salamander]

That’s better than the guy made outta fruits and vegetables, at least.

[hanamizu]

OK, stupid question. If the bust wasn’t done by Leonardo, but was credited to him for century, isn’t the artist who did create it perhaps worth knowing about. After all his work is good enough to be mistaken for Leonardo’s.

[SunkenCiv]

It wasn't good enough for most people to make that mistake, apparently. It's nice to have it settled now.

[SunkenCiv]

That would be "The Gardener". There's a similar flip-over work by Archimboldo, "The Cook". This one is one of my faves: https://line.17qq.com/articles/mfgwpwpqy.html (wouldn't display, and I couldn't find a problem with the html).