The painting was thought to be an obscure 19th Century work known as Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress. It has been revealed, though, to be a hitherto unknown work by Leonardo da Vinci and has been renamed La Bella Principessa.

The painting became known when it showed up in a Christies auction house catalogue in the early 1990s. It sold for $19,000 to an art dealer named Kate Ganz, who subsequently sold it for a similar price in 2007. The work is now in a Swiss bank vault and is valued at $160 million.

Peter Silverman, an art collector, was the first to suspect that the work was not 19th Century. After study, Silverman concluded that the painting was a hitherto unknown work of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance. Further study using the latest in digital imaging technology discovered a partial hand print and a fingerprint that matched those found on two other known works by Leonardo da Vinci.

Finally Da Vinci expert Martin Kemp, Professor Emeritus at Oxford University, was called in to examine the painting, Kemp concluded that the painting was indeed a Da Vinci, likely dating from 1496. The work was executed on vellum and was meant to be the cover of a book of poetry, meant as a gift. Kemp believes that the portrait is of Bianca Sforza, daughter of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan and his mistress Bernardina de Corradis. Hence Martin Kemp has renamed the painting, La Bella Principessa.

La Bella Principessa Bianca Sforza, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1496, when Bona Sforza was just two years old.