The Louvre has collaborated with the Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility to perform a quantitative chemical analysis on the Mona Lisa, 1503-06, and the faces of seven other works by the artist. Using x-ray fluorescence, researchers analysed the composition and thickness of [...]
Archive of posts tagged Leonardo da Vinci
Article: French scientists crack secrets of Mona Lisa
San Francisco Chronicle: Full article here ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press, 07/16/10 The enigmatic smile remains a mystery, but French scientists say they have cracked a few secrets of the “Mona Lisa.” French researchers studied seven of the Louvre Museum’s Leonardo da Vinci paintings, including the “Mona Lisa,” to analyze the master’s use of successive ultrathin [...]
Article: Mona Lisa smile created using ‘trick’
Austrian neurologists say analysis of the masterpiece shows her face appears to shift depending where a person focuses their gaze. If her eyes are stared at, it appears she has a subtle smile on her lips. But if the onlooker shifts their gaze to her mouth, then the smile disappears. Professor Florian Hutzler, a psychology [...]
Article: A Leonardo masterpiece hidden inside a wall in Florence?
Some say that Leonardo's “The Battle of Anghiari” is behind a Vasari fresco in Florence’s city hall. This article details devices now being used to detect the painting by firing neutrons into the wall. Article
