British Library experts reported the discovery of an unknown sketch in Leonardo da Vinci's notebook. On one of the pages, scientists found an image of a male figure, which some experts have compared with the famous statue by Michelangelo.
The attention of the researchers was attracted by a dark spot measuring 6x3 cm, which, apparently, was a sketch, probably erased by the author himself. Thanks to the use of the multispectral scanning method, the specialists managed to restore some of the lines that are invisible to the naked eye.
Scientists studied a collection of drawings known as Codex Arundel 263, which was given to the British Library by collector Thomas Howard. The collection consists of notes and sketches from different periods of Leonardo da Vinci's work, but the main part is made up of works from 1508. The codex contains sketches covering the fields of mechanics, astronomy, optics, architecture. Codex Arundel 263 was built after the death of Leonardo da Vinci.
Why the author depicted the figure of a man in this place on the page, as well as why he so carefully erased the drawing, remains unclear.