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25 Uncover Secrets about the Mona Lisa

The images are part of an exhibition, "Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed," .  
New images uncover 25 secrets about the Mona Lisa, including proof that Leonardo da Vinci gave her eyebrows, solving a long-held mystery.

The images are part of an exhibition, "Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed," which features new research by French engineer Pascal Cotte and debuts in the United States at the Metreon Center in San Francisco, where it will remain through the end of this year. The Mona Lisa showcase is part of a larger exhibition called "Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius."

Cotte, founder of Lumiere Technology, scanned the painting with a 240-megapixel Multi-spectral Imaging Camera he invented, which uses 13 wavelengths from ultraviolet light to infrared. The resulting images peel away centuries of varnish and other alterations, shedding light on how the artist brought the painted figure to life and how she appeared to da Vinci and his contemporaries. 

"The face of Mona Lisa appears slightly wider and the smile is different and the eyes are different," Cotte said. "The smile is more accentuated I would say."

Mona Lisa mysteries

A zoomed-in image of Mona Lisa's left eye revealed a single brush stroke in the eyebrow region, Cotte said.

"I am an engineer and scientist, so for me all has to be logical. It was not logical that Mona Lisa does not have any eyebrows or eyelashes," Cotte told LiveScience. "I discovered one hair of the eyebrow."

Another conundrum had been the position of the subject's right arm, which lies across her stomach. This was the first time, Cotte said, that a painter had rendered a subject's arm and wrist in such a position. While other artists had never understood da Vinci's reasoning, they copied it nonetheless.

Cotte discovered the pigment just behind the right wrist matched up perfectly with that of the painted cover that drapes across Mona Lisa's knee. So it did make sense: The forearm and wrist held up one side of a blanket.

"The wrist of the right hand is up high on the stomach. But if you look deeply in the infrared you understand that she holds a cover with her wrist," Cotte said.

Behind a painting

The infrared images also revealed da Vinci's preparatory drawings that lie behind layers of varnish and paint, showing that the Renaissance man was also human.

"If you look at the left hand you see the first position of the finger, and he changed his mind for another position," Cotte said. "Even Leonardo da Vinci had hesitation."

Other revelations include:

  • Lace on Mona Lisa's dress
  • The transparency of the veil shows da Vinci first painted a landscape and then used transparency techniques to paint the veil atop it.
  • A change in the position of the left index and middle finger.
  • The elbow was repaired from damage due to a rock thrown at the painting in 1956.
  • The blanket covering Mona Lisa's knees also covers her stomach.
  • The left finger was not completely finished.
  • A blotch mark on the corner of the eye and chin are varnish accidents, countering claims that Mona Lisa was sick.
  • And the Mona Lisa was painted on uncut poplar board, contrary to speculations.

In the larger picture, Cotte said when he stands back and looks up at the enlarged infrared image of Mona Lisa, her beauty and mystique are apparent.

"If you are in front of this huge enlargement of Mona Lisa, you understand instantly why Mona Lisa is so famous," Cotte said. He added, it's something you have to see with your own eyes.

Leonardo y la Mona Lisa/ Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Story: La historia del mayor enigma del arte/ The History of a Painting Told in Pictures (Spanish Edition)





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7 comentarios:

  1. Esto quiere decir, que la Mona Liza era mas gordita, o que el ojo del gran maestro fallo, porque el borron se nota perfecto, pero que subyuga de sólo mirarla.....a veces me pregunto, si el maestro se enamoro de ella, al tenerla tanto tiempo cerca de él para pintarla, porque nunca se ha sabido de algún amor de Da Vinci.Carlos Del Bocca

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  2. Como se equivoco el maestro, se ve claramente el error en el cuerpo y la mano derecha parece que fuera una mano superpuesta, el dibujo está pésimo, que te paso Da Vinci, nos distrajistes por años con la carita de la Monaliza y ahora que te la desmenuzan vemos tus errores, que pena!, tecaiste Viejo.Juan Elizondo

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  3. Que le pasa al blog, uno escribe bien los comentarios y después los atravieza todo, como si uno lo hibiese hecho con unas cervezas en el cuerpo.Juan Elizondo

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  4. esto no se entiende, ya no hago mas comentarios, Juan Elizondo

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  5. Se sabe algo de los huesitos de la Monaliza.Carmen Rodriguez

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  6. Los misterior los inventamos nosotros mismos. Quizas la Mona que pinto Da Vinci, ni siquiera llega hacer una pieza maestra, ha sufrido a través del tiempo, tantos retoques que eso la ha convertido en una obra maestra y al Gran Maestro, ni siquiera se la pagaron, que se fue con ella a Paris y el Rey de Francia se compadecio y le compró esa Mona,que no era una obra de arte, y la puso para adornar su baño y los distintos retoques la convirtieron en lo que es hoy.Quizás que Monaliza, verán nuestros hijos.Carlos del Bocca

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  7. Che, porque me cambias lo lindo que escribo y después resulta una mazamorra de tallarines.Carlos del Bocca

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