What 'Adoration of the Magi' could reveal about Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, Adoration of the Magi, will soon be undergoing testing that could help digitally reconstruct the artist’s face and offer clues about his life and health.

According to the U.K. outlet Sky News, researchers with California’s J Craig Venter Institute, the pioneer behind human genome sequencing, will be searching for hairs and flakes of skin on Da Vinci’s paintings and notebooks.

Genetic analysis will be performed, and DNA will be compared to Da Vinci’s known living relatives, and that taken from his parents’ graves.

Scientists hope to determine the eye color, hair color, skin tone, and face shape of the Renaissance master. These details could add to the evidence in existence about his appearance. Health information could also be discovered.

Ultimately, Fox News reported, the hope is to evaluate the unproven claim of whether Da Vinci is actually buried in a chapel of the Château d’Amboise.