Mystery man: Da Vinci still has allure, above in undated drawing. (Associated Press)

Great get: The National Gallery of Art's record $5 million bid in 1967 won "Ginevra de' Benci," circa 1474. (National Gallery Of Art)

The multitasking Renaissance genius who produced the most famous portrait in the world -- Mona somebody -- left us only 10 to 20 other paintings. Yet if current whispers bear out about a picture in Boston,
that number may increase by one more. Art experts say it's the
equivalent of stumbling upon a surprise Shakespeare play or a lost
Homeric epic.

At this point, we have only a tantalizing mystery -- perhaps the unspooling of a new Da Vinci code -- dangling on the slender thread of secrets and a handful of clues that emerged this week:

-- The Washington Post receives a tip from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has in its possession a painting believed to be by the Italian master, and is in the process of authenticating it. Were it deemed a true Leonardo, such
a painting would be only the second one in all the Americas. 

Source: Washington Post