Mona Lisa as Leonardo Painted It
|
| Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519). Portrait of Lisa Gherardini (Mona Lisa) (ca. 1503-06). Oil on poplar wood. 77 x 53 cm (30.3 x 20.9 in.). Musée du Louvre. |
|
| Mona Lisa Partially Revealed. © Lumière Technology. |
By STAN PARCHIN
February 8, 2010
Mona Lisa (ca. 1503-06) by Italian High Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is arguably the most recognizable image in the history of Western art. But did you know that the portrait originally had eyebrows? Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed (October 17-December 31, 2007), a component of Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius (August 4-December 31, 2007) at San Francisco, California's Metreon, revealed previously unknown facts about the artist's mysterious masterpiece through the use of hi-tech photography. Recent scientific studies sanctioned by France's National Laboratory and Paris' Musée du Louvre, the painting's keeper, irrefutably confirmed 25 discoveries about the composition's original appearance.
Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed
The installation described the remarkable work of Pascal Cotte and Lumière Technology for the first time in the United States. The passionate French engineer invented the 240-megapixel Multi-spectral Imaging Camera to take multiple photographs of Mona Lisa and other paintings using patented infrared technology and intense illumination.
Over an almost three-hour period, Cotte photographed the portrait, his session having resulted in 13 original images. Two years of technical analysis allowed Cotte to document precisely what pigments Leonardo actually used, where the artist made changes to his composition and where restoration efforts occurred. This innovative kind of photography permits the viewer to see Mona Lisa as it originally appeared. The exhibition featured a high-definition color recreation of Cotte's work alongside an accurate replica of how the painting appears today. Oversized copies of the portrait and its various sections, enabling one to examine the painting better, were also on display. The work's original blue sky, vibrant mountains, green trees and Mona Lisa's pinkish face were made visible to the naked eye.
Some of the verifiable revelations about the composition of Mona Lisa are startling.
● The painting was never cut to be framed. |
● The top of the sky, sitter's eyes and lips were restored. |
● Mona Lisa had eyebrows. |
● Glazes or glacis (semi-transparent layers of paint) in the subject's veil reveal the order in which Leonardo painted the portrait. |
● The artist changed the position of the left hand's index and middle fingers. |
● Mona Lisa's dress had lace that has vanished over time. |
● A blanket, rising above the wrist of the sitter's left hand that holds it, covers both her knees and stomach. |
Sources
Bambach, Carmen (ed.), et al. Leonardo da Vinci: Master Draftsman (exh. cat.). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003, 3, 183, 234, 239, 240, 375, 433, 434, 575, 636.
Kemp, Martin. Leonardo. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, 5, 6, 12, 106, 139, 148-50, 210-14, 216, 219, 221, 223, 244-45.
Pallanti, Guiseppe. Mona Lisa Revealed: The True Identity of Leonardo's Model. Milan: Skira Editore, 2006.