Did You Know?

In 2007, Giovanni Maria Pala, an Italian computer technician and musician, stated that he had uncovered musical notes in Da Vinci’s famous painting The Last Supper. According to Pala, if one draws the five lines of the musical staff across the painting; the hands of Jesus Christ, the hands of his apostles, and the loaves of bread on the table would depict a musical note which would make sense when read from right to left. Da Vinci was known to be a music enthusiast who incorporated musical riddles in his writings which must be read from right to left. Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a dedicated Da Vinci museum in Tuscany believed Pala’s proposition is “plausible.” Vezzosi also stated that Da Vinci played the lyre and sketched several musical instruments.