The Hidden Battle: Is Leonardo's Lost Fresco Behind a Wall?

Painted between 1505 and 1506, this monumental fresco depicted a cavalry battle and was highly praised by contemporaries, who called it "the school of the world." However, Leonardo's experimental oil-based technique on plaster failed, causing the work to deteriorate rapidly. Later, Giorgio Vasari was commissioned to paint over the wall. Art historian Maurizio Seracini identified Vasari's own tiny inscription "cerca trova" ("seek and you shall find") on one of his frescoes, leading to speculation that Vasari, out of respect for Leonardo, might have built a new wall in front of it rather than destroying it.