Dog found behind Virgin of the Rocks

(ANSA) - Rome, March 2 - A top Italian art historian said Thursday that a dog with a lead has been detected behind Leonardo Da Vinci's famed Virgin of the Rocks in the Louvre.
    "That dog is an act of indictment by Leonardo Da Vinci against the corruption of the papacy of the age," said Silvano Vinceti, the president of the national committee for the valorization of historic heritage.
    Vinceti, who was at the centre of the finding of Caravaggio's bones at Porto Ercole and the remains of the model for Mona Lisa in Florence in recent years, said the discovery was made by Roberto Biggi, a researcher for the committee.
    The dog was detected behind vegetation in the backdrop of the masterpiece. "We achieved this result with a new work (method), via the use of a mix of the most advanced technologies and simple instruments," he explained.
    "A special magnifying glass enabled us to carefully examine every feature of the painting and then an advanced photoshop software enabled us to overlay, decompose and recompose it".