Singer-turned-artist tunes into works with help from Da Vinci

In Portrait of a Musician, an oil painting thought to have been done by Leonardo da Vinci, a young musician is seen holding a folded musical score.

Last autumn, when Chinese contemporary artist Ai Jing saw the painting at the centuries-old Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, she wanted to have a conversation with the late master, she says.

"I am not sure if the ambiguity (of the score) was intentional or just a result of time. Da Vinci left us a hint for further investigation," says Ai, once a popular folk singer. "I began to imagine and compose the auditory aspects of the painting."