Markings Found At The Back Of Leonardo Da Vinci's Painting Discovered To Be Sketches

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece has been learned to have a little something extra. Previous unknown markings at the back of his painting have been discovered by experts to be sketches.

The drawings were discovered at the back of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, an oil painting on wood. The sketches were seen when the painting was taken down in September for restoration.

The curator at the Louvre Museum had pointed out some grey marks that had previously been dismissed as stains. The photographs were taken with an infrared camera and were discovered to be actually three drawings.

The sketches, done in black stone or charcoal, feature an 18 cm by 10 cm horse head; a 16.5cm by 10cm skull complete with orbital and nasal cavities, jaws and teeth; and a 15 cm-high baby Jesus with a lamb. The third was invisible to the naked eye.

A spokesperson for the Louvre said that the discovery was "amusing and moving" and also mysterious as it had gone unnoticed for 500 years.

Bruno Mottin told Times Online, "They were not meant to be kept. They had been largely wiped out, which explains why no one had spotted them until now."

The museum also said that there was evidence suggesting that the sketches were indeed drawn by da Vinci himself.

Head of paintings, Vincent Pomarede, told the website, "We're being very careful but what is troubling is the similarity with drawings that are already known."

The skull apparently resembles those in the Master's other sketches, the equine head is suggestive of those in the lost masterpiece The Battle of Anghiari, and the baby Jesus appears to be a draft for The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.

The museums added that it would carry out tests to confirm their findings.