Da Vinci's Daughter
I got an email from Derek Bair a little while ago. He has been doing some fascinating work that reveals a real life Da Vinci Code.
Here's a link to his website It's Just Life and below is his press release.
New Discoveries uncover a real life Da Vinci Code
Unless you've been hiding under a pop-culture resistant rock, you've heard about the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, which raised a number of previously-unconsidered questions about the world's greatest inventor, his work, and his connection to Christianity.
Today, an even less likely candidate has emerged with a new book about the master inventor Leonardo Da Vinci. This one promises to be even more controversial: Derek Bair, a 24-year old aspiring writer and photographer from Lake Forest, California. Derek has unearthed secrets about Da Vinci that he promises will stun even the experts.
“No one is going to believe it until they see it for themselves!”
Until now, no expert has uncovered what Bair has in Da Vinci's work. Bair's book, "Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter", examines Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and his life, pulling out secrets that have not been discovered-even by Da Vinci experts. Using his expertise in digital media as a method of analysis, Bair says his research and findings have been based off of Da Vinci's notebooks and art and credit his success to understanding how Da Vinci thinks more than anything else.
"I believe I've discovered exactly what Da Vinci left behind for someone to piece together," says Bair. He claims that Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter is a "real life Da Vinci Code." It not only explains the secrecy behind Da Vinci's work, but Bair realized there are many parallels with Leonardo's life and his own. "We've both been obsessed with animals, horses especially, and drawing. He's also kept journals, and mine have grown from a couple entries in high school to literally phonebook-sized or more, year after year."
He has been researching and analyzing the Mona Lisa and other art by Da Vinci and has come up with several very intriguing theories. "The Mona Lisa was x-rayed and found to have at least three other paintings underneath which are invisible to the naked eye. What are those other paintings underneath?" asks Bair.
One of his many theories also includes the assertion that Da Vinci could be considered the world's first photographer. "He painted with such perfect detail and precision that his paintings, especially the Mona Lisa, we can barely understand today how he painted it." In his book he credits the Shroud of Turin which has 3d photography characteristics to Da Vinci. Although others have made this assertion, Derek provides a unique connection based on Da Vinci’s most famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man.
Bair has been intrigued by the many mysteries surrounding the Mona Lisa including why the perspective the background inexplicitly rises mysteriously behind her. He discovered that if you roll up a print of the Mona Lisa that you can see the edges match up. This discovery alone
is significant as no one has noticed this in the last 500 years.
He also doesn't believe that the sitting is really Lisa Giocondo, "It's definitely not her! She was used for her name and not her face. Just like Dan Brown used in his novel, Da Vinci was fond of word games and double meaning; Mona Lisa is no exception."
One of the many theories of the identity of the Mona Lisa has been Da Vinci himself, as his self-portrait matches up exactly with that of the painting. Bair found after more research that the painting of Da Vinci's assistant and lover Salai, which is housed in the Alois collection in Liechtenstein, also combines perfectly with the Mona Lisa. Derek says that this discovery alone provides the biggest insight into the Mona Lisa to date. Since the painting of Salai was painted before the Mona Lisa, it would have had to be used in the creation of the Mona Lisa.
“For two painting to align perfectly when placed on top of each other, with only a change in size and NOT in proportion means that they would have had to been designed to do so.” Giving more credit that this is no coincidence the title of Mona Lisa itself is a clue. An anagram of Mona Lisa is “Mon Salai” which means “My Salai” in French. Another name for Salai is Salino which is anagrammed to “Ona Lisa.” Is this a complex coincidence or careful planning? In his book Derek explains how and why this happens.
"I knew Da Vinci had it match up for a reason. Considering that he never married I was left with the idea that it could have been a painted daughter." After comparing the painting of Salai,
Da Vinci's lover, it matched with the Mona Lisa even more than Da Vinci's sketch. "It was one of those moments in my life where I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It made me realize why he kept everything such a secret! He would have been burned at the stake if anyone in his time found out what he really did."
Despite the substance to back up all of his claims Bair has found it difficult to get anyone to pay attention. "It's frustrating trying to get people to even look at what I've found! It’s made me question everything I’ve found, but it’s also forced me to become my own worst skeptic. It’s taken a year of my life, but I’m ready to stand behind what I’ve found.”
He also believes that Da Vinci might have been either Autistic or had Asperger's Syndrome, which is a neurological disorder that isn't completely understood but makes it difficult for those affected to relate to others. Half way through the past year Derek realized he had Aspergers syndrome and dedicated a chapter in his book to it. He also theorizes that Da Vinci was autistic and gives some pretty enticing evidence.
“People with autism actually perceive the world slightly different from everyone else. I believe this is what has enabled me to notice what I have and explains the similarities between Da Vinci and myself. It also explains why I’ve been so afraid to announce what I’ve found. It’s taken months just to work up the courage to finally finish.”
Elaborating on the theory promoted in the “Da Vinci Code” Derek says he’s found the correct way to view the Last Supper that unlocks its secrets and explains that hand without a body and other oddities contained in the painting. He says it shows Jesus holding a baby, and has stereo-gram like characteristics.
“There are going to be a lot of people who wont like what I’ve found, but it’s there none-the-less. The images I’ve found locked in the Last Supper are going to be very controversial, but it’s still just a painting and the personal opinion of the original artist. It doesn’t make it real.”
Derek makes it clear that his prerogative is not proving or disproving anything religious but explaining the curiosities in a painting.
“As far fetched my theories and discoveries might seem they are based off of images and not my personal beliefs. Nothing has been fabricated, everything can be reproduced, and once I get the help I need I’ll show the world things no one would ever believe a painting could contain from 500 years ago.”
Derek’s book which explains his discoveries and research is completely unique to literature. He’s interwoven something he’s calling “Interjections” between each chapter which documents his journey from start to end. Discovering he had Aspergers, going what seemed crazy, losing everything, but most importantly discovering himself. He says that his book is much more than an art book and has something for just about everyone.
“I wrote and designed my book with my original intention in mind. I want to help people. I want to inspire them to do great things. My book evolved from a way to announce a single discovery to a 444 page adventure. I want to change the world. I hope the discoveries I’ve made will be the medium I need to spread a message of hope to a world desperately needing it. During the last year I’ve come up with some pretty fascinating ideas: how to end world hunger, designs for electric cars, energy production, cameras, and more. Things that might sound kinda crazy at first, but once people read my book they might find some of the sanest ideas in a very long time.”
"Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter" is available at http://www.itsjustlife.com, and www.lulu.com/itsjustlife. A digital version is available for $12.50 with full color pages which can be downloaded immediately. A hard copy (to be mailed) is available for $25.93.