An Italian art detective claims that Leonardo da Vinci used both a female and a male model to create the face of one of the world's most famous paintings, the 'Mona Lisa'.
He says the first model was Lisa Gherardini, known as Mona Lisa del Giocondo, and his second model was his long-time apprentice and lover, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salai.
Silvano Vinceti, head of the research group the National Committee for Cultural Heritage, based his findings on infra-red examinations of the Mona Lisa.
"There is one indisputable element of proof which can be seen, with the use of infrared technology, in the first layer of the painting of Mona Lisa," he explains. "In that layer we can see that she was not smiling and joyful but looked melancholic and sad."
Story has it that Gherardini looked sad at the sittings and her husband, a Florentine silk merchant who had commissioned the painting, hired clowns to try to make her smile. His efforts failed and Leonardo had to use another model to satisfy her husband's requests. The investigative team compared Salai's features from other Leonardo paintings to those of the Mona Lisa.
"We have used all the paintings in which Leonardo used Salai as a model and compared them to the Mona Lisa and certain details correspond perfectly," says Silvano Vinceti. "So, he used two models and then added creative details, that came from his own imagination. I believe that this goes with a long-time fascination of Leonardo's, which was the subject of androgyny. In other words, for Leonardo, the perfect person was a combination of a man and a woman."
What's believed to be the remains of Lisa Gherardini were discovered last year by researchers excavating under a centuries-old convent in Florence. The bones, which included a femur, are believed to date back to around the time she died, in July 1542, at the age of 63.
Long queues form outside Departures
Some flights had resumed
Temporary check-in tent was in use
There have been long queues at the departures hall at Brussels Airport.
The airport authorities re-opened the area to the public on Sunday, for the first time since a double suicide bombing six weeks ago.
Today we're welcoming the first passengers back into the main #brusselsairport departures ... https://t.co/onhhpo9VjZ pic.twitter.com/e3TmJJjMP3- Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) May 1, 2016
32 people died in the March 22 attacks at the airport and on the Brussels metro.
Tight security
.BrusselsAirport departures terminal reopens today under many layers of security pic.twitter.com/95Shtn7sT4- Teri Schultz (terischultz) May 2, 2016
Security is the tightest it has ever been.
Extra checks have been brought in, leading some passengers to complain about the long queues outside the terminal.
"It is ok at the moment," said one woman,"everyone understands because of what happened. But in the future, it has to be faster."
"When you come into the terminal, you can see things have changed," another passenger told reporters. "It is a bit shocking for me because it is the first time I have been here since the attacks. It is heartbreaking."
But hadn't flight departures already resumed?
Yes.
However, passengers have been using a temporary check-in tent because of the extensive damage to the departure hall.
Greenpeace has released leaked secret TTIP negotiation documents that show the US is applying pressure on the EU to weaken European protection laws on the environment and public health.
#TTIPleak - we are very grateful to Greenpeace for the leak but it underlines our fears on the EU-US #TTIP talks pic.twitter.com/A6Tb75y83G- Greens in the EP (GreensEP) May 2, 2016
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is an attempt to create the world's biggest free trade zone between the US and European Union.
Jorgo Riss is Greenpeace EU director.
"The EU in relation to environment protection, public health and product standards that are relevant for consumers is a fairly bad position and the United States is much worse. So the prospect of having a final agreement that is between bad and worse is not a encouraging one."
35,000 Protest #TTIP in Hannover
Only 1/5 Germans favour proposed EU-US Trade Deal. https://t.co/Iveo9Z1ClB pic.twitter.com/aiI5mKZpx0- LEAVE.EU (LeaveEUOfficial) April 24, 2016
The European Commission has vowed to protect environmental laws and defend international standards.
Greenpeace insists that "TTIP is about a huge transfer of power from people to big business."
The top EU negotiator Ignacio Garcia says the leaks are not helpful:"Does the the leak bother us? Yes, of course, it's not good for trust in the process that such a document is leaked. But there you go, that's all I can say for the moment. Thank you."
The US trade representative said the interpretation of the leaked documents "appear to be misleading at best and flat out wrong at worst.''
Greenpeace has been quick to maximise access to the documents setting up mobile reading stations in Berlin and projecting the text onto the Bundestag.
Greenpeace published about half of the confidential deal on website https://t.co/volUGjQXJr: https://t.co/MVPtnI6O6e pic.twitter.com/c1ic7gzeR0- Reuters World (ReutersWorld) May 2, 2016
Democracy Needs Transparency! Greenpeace activists project #TTIPleaks documents on the Berlin Reichstag. pic.twitter.com/pWVkpSTMzt- Greenpeace e.V. (@greenpeace_de) May 2, 2016
The number of people facing hunger in Zimbabwe due to drought has risen from three to four million, according to estimates.
The UN children's agency UNICEF says the poor southern African country is experiencing the worst drought in two decades - induced by a powerful effect from El Nino.
Earlier this year UNICEF warned that malnutrition was taking hold, with nearly one million children in eastern and southern Africa in need of treatment for acute malnutrition.
Water is also scarce in Zimbabwe. Women - the main care givers in many families - have to walk for long distances in search of supplies.
"The distance we have to cover to get to water is great. Sometimes we are carrying babies on our backs. I have had to leave my three-month-old baby at home. Look how dirty I am! There is a big water problem here," said one young mother, Mollen Jongwe.
#Zimbabwe: Thanks to USAID WFP continues to provide relief for those effected by #ElNino : https://t.co/TXTibrmDAn pic.twitter.com/wxkW5ExTVs- World Food Programme (WFP) 30 April 2016
In one screening exercise, health workers weigh children in Mwenezi in southern Zimbabwe, one of the worst hit regions.
The number being treated for malnutrition at the local hospital rose from four in January to 25 in March.
One mother, Solvine Chipenyu, brought her baby girl for treatment after she was diagnosed with kwashiorkor - a form of malnutrition common in developing parts of the world.
"When she first fell ill she shad stomach problems, then her feet started to swell so I took her to hospital," she said.
Aid agencies warn the lack of water may result in the spread of diseases like diarrhoea.
UNICEF is screening children in six of Zimbabwe's 33 districts, where they continue to record increasing malnutrition cases.
Drought and low mineral commodity prices taking their toll on the economy. The government has issued licences to private millers to import grain, while organisations such as the United Nations' World Food Programme are feeding one million people.
Earlier this year Zimbabwe's government declared a state of national disaster and appealed for 1.4 billion euros in food aid.
#BUSINESS : Climate change to cause 38pc decline in agric income - https://t.co/d6fLsdFIEW pic.twitter.com/kDfHDYa0Ow- The Herald (@HeraldZimbabwe) May 2, 2016
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