Kidney stones, high cholesterol, what other medical conditions might one diagnose in the paintings during a Vatican Tour?
Italians have a remarkable ability to diagnose and attribute medical conditions, sometimes by just looking at a person. A Palermo researcher has now concluded that the ambiguous smile on the face of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa may be attributed to her high cholesterol levels, visible from accumulations in the hollow of her left eye. Mona Lisa isn’t the first renaissance figure to be diagnosed by Vito Franco. He previously speculated that Michaelangelo’s appearance in The School of Athens painting suggests that the artist suffered from kidney stones due to a steady diet of bread and wine while completing his work in the Sistine Chapel. More about Vito Franco’s work at artinfo.com. Next time you take a Vatican Tour, see what kinds of ailments YOU can find in the paintings!
