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ANCONA, Italy, Oct 15, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A museum in Ancona, Italy, is displaying a never-seen-before painting believed to have been created by Leonardo da Vinci.
The latest version of da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks" was found in a private Swiss collection three years ago, the BBC reported Saturday.
The painting is believed to have been created by da Vinci and his student Giampetrino in da Vinci's later years, the BBC said. However, some historians claim the painting was done by Giampetrino alone.
The painting is hanging at the Mole Vanvitelliana museum next to a portrait of Mary Magdalene, also believed to have been created by the pair.
"Virgin of the Rocks" depicts Mary sitting in a grotto with Jesus, Saint John and the archangel, Uriel. Two other versions of the painting are at the Louvre in Paris and in London's National Gallery.
The Mary Magdalene portrait would be one of da Vinci's few nudes if it is proven authentic, historians said.
That painting had been unseen for 50 years until it turned up in the same Swiss collection, the BBC said.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2005 by United Press International
