Washington, Jan 9: The unique mirror writings of Leonardo Da Vinci could hold a key to the secret images concealed in the artist’s artworks, a new book has claimed.

The forthcoming book, by a group of Da Vinci theorists, also suggests that the images hidden within the master's paintings are biblical in nature.

The Renaissance genius stuffed thousands of manuscript pages with a unique mirror handwriting that flowed from right to left and reversed all the letters.

Experts theorize that Da Vinci developed this unattainable writing merely because, being a left-hander, he would have evolved a style of handwriting efficient for him.

However, Hugo Conti, a self-taught Argentinian historian who leads a mysterious group called "The Mirror of The Sacred Scriptures and Paintings," believes that the artist’s writings mask a key to secret images.

"It is easy to find invisible images in Leonardo's paintings. Many of his characters seem to be staring into space. In reality, they are indicating where one must place the mirror to visualize the images," Discovery News quoted Conti, as saying.

When a mirror is applied to Da Vinci's painting "Saint Anne, the Virgin and Child," on display at London's National Gallery, it exposes a figure, which according to some cynical observers resembles the Star Wars character Darth Vader.

But, according to Conti, the image looks like the ancient Old Testament god Jahveh, who represents the human mind's struggles against the vices of the body.

The mirror also reveals a key image when applied to Da Vinci’s masterpiece

"The Last Supper.” According to Conti, one can make out the Holy Grail itself inverted on the table when viewed with a mirror.

"The glance of the apostle James is not directed to Judas, but to where the Holy Grail, only viewable through a mirror, is overturned on the table, just between Jesus' hands," Conti said.

He added that another biblical image is concealed in “John the Baptist,” on display at the Louvre Museum.

He explained that John the Baptist's finger points to where one must place the mirror, thus resulting in the revelation of a woman being bonked by a tree.

Conti believes that the image represents the Tree of Life in Adam and Eve's Garden of Eden.

"All these hidden biblical images are related to a secret message left by the artist. They represent the allegories of the Genesis and New Testament and open the doors to a new way of reading these artworks," Conti said.

He added that Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance artists were aware of the allegories mentioned in many biblical references and in the treaties of Philo of Alexandria, a 1st century philosopher and theologian.

"All the images are related to explanations given by Philo, who reveals that the Bible is a symbolic representation of the history of the human intelligence," he said.

“Adam is the intelligence that resides in the mind of every human, while Eve is the corporal sensibility. The hidden images in the paintings tell this story and can only be seen with a mirror by those with sharp vision,” he added.

However, Conti’s theory has been condemned in Italy. While the Vatican said that the study required "solid proof" and needed backing by art critics, the daily Il Giornale refuted the claim as "pareidolia," a psychological phenomenon. (ANI)