Da Vinci was originally buried in a church that was destroyed in the French revolution of 1789 and his remains were then reburied in the castle's smaller chapel of Saint-Hubert in 1874.

They lie beneath an inscription that describes them as “presumed” to be the master's.

Silvano Vincenti, head of the Italian team, said the first step would be to ascertain if the remains are da Vinci’s. The team will use carbon dating and compare DNA samples from bones and teeth to those of male descendants in Bologna, Italy.

Speculation about the identity of the Mona Lisa has ranged from Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant, to da Vinci’s mother.

However, the exhumation plans have proved controversial among some da Vinci scholars, who believe his remains should not be disturbed.

Nicholas Turner, a former curator of drawings at the Getty Museum, said: “It sounds a bit fanciful, slightly mad, as if the Leonardo bug has taken hold too firmly in the minds of these people.

--------------------

Silly stupid science or a BAD JOKE?... see image at top.

Artist Michael Landy, who once destroyed his possessions in the name of art, has turned a gallery into a giant bin for the disposal of artworks.

Over the next six weeks, hundreds of works by artists both famous and unknown will be dumped in the "Art Bin" at the South London Gallery.

So far, pieces by Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst, have been thrown away.

Landy said he hoped the bin would gradually fill up to create "a monument to creative failure".

---------------------

I do not know how old Michael Landy is... But to say the least he is not the first artist to "bin" his work...

I'd be prepared to say that Leonardo destroyed some of his works, and many of his work were not designed for publication or public viewing. I know that over my life as an artist since age 5, I would have destroyed about 60 per cent of my paintings... to bin or not to bin, that is not the question... To send to the tip or not to tipper... Self doubt and failure are part of artistic life.

...

After this, the ownership of Salvator Mundi went undocumented until the 19th century, when it was acquired by Sir Francis Cook, a British collector seemingly unaware that it was da Vinci's work. In 1958, the piece was sold for £45 at an auction in Sotheby's of London by trustees of the Cook collection, who mistakenly attributed it to Boltraffio, an Italian Renaissance painter considered da Vinci's best student.

Much more recently, the painting was found in a private U.S. collection, bought in an American estate sale around seven years ago. As a lost piece that has remained unauthenticated for centuries, it was restored, at least in part by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the hope of being the work of the great artist, the process proving these speculations correct.

Robert Simon, a specialist in Old Masters in New York, stated that the authentication process took a long time as, "[the painting] has been damaged and overpainted" during previous poor restorations. He added that "the condition is not immaculate, but there is enough to convey an excellent impression".

What's more, Simon is also one of the painting's owners, but he's had to deny claims that a $100 million offer was refused for the painting in the hope of selling it for twice that amount, declaring firmly that, "as a representative of the owners, I can say that the picture is not on the market".