Da Vinci Press Announces 'Tweeting da Vinci' Author Ann C. Pizzorusso to Speak in London

Ann C. Pizzorusso, geologist and Italian Renaissance scholar will speak on Leonardo da Vinci at a conference entitled "Art, Law and Crises of Connoisseurship" organized by ArtWatch UK, Center for Art Law and the London School of Economics Cultural Heritage on Tuesday December 1, 2015 at The Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London.

She will present her geological analysis of the two versions of the "Virgin of the Rocks," one in London at the National Gallery and the other in Paris at the Louvre. She concludes that only one could have been painted by Leonardo. Her research supports the premise of the conference, that careful observation, attention to detail and an understanding of style are vital for the proper evaluation and attribution of a work of art.

Pizzorusso's work is revolutionary in that it establishes geologic accuracy as a key for determining the authenticity of a work attributed to da Vinci. She presents her findings in a richly illustrated chapter in her multi-prize winning book, "Tweeting da Vinci."

The conference lecturers include experts in the areas of art history, appraisal, restoration and law.

About Art Watch UK: campaigns to protect the integrity of works of art and architecture from injurious physical treatments and hazardous, exploitative or demeaning actions. To these ends, it welcomes direct debate with restoration/conservation practitioners and seeks access to records of restoration or conservation treatments in all publicly or charitably supported museums, galleries and buildings. It works through its journal and elsewhere to establish an aesthetically informed an properly critical restoration literature and, where appropriate, to counter partisan or propagandistic accounts in the specialist press and in the public media.