Police "Dust" Paintings for Leonardo Prints

CHIETI, Italy—Italian police are examining two Renaissance paintings in hopes of finding evidence that Leonardo da Vinci worked on them, reports the Times (London). The value of the works, which depict La Madone de Laroque and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, would skyrocket to more than $140 million each if they were found to be by the master.

Art historians believe the Madonna, bought by a collector at a flea market in France for less that $300 a few years ago, is by the artist Giampietrino, who is known to have worked in Leonardo's workshop. But some experts believe Leonardo himself may have worked on the painting.

Experts also believe Giampietrino completed the Saint Catherine depiction, but the work shows that the artist used his fingertips to create a soft-focus effect in the work, a technique for which Leonardo is revered.

In a project undertaken by the University of Chieti in central Italy and the Museo Ideale in Vinci, police are photographing and examining fingerprints in the paint. They will compare what they find to a database of 200 incomplete prints gathered over the past three years. “I’m used to working on the fingerprints of criminals, but the techniques are the same,” said Colonel Gianfranco de Fulvio.