Researchers discovered that the “Mona Lisa” (1503) holds other impressive enigmas in its composition that were never identified.
X-ray and infrared analyzes have verified that Leonardo da Vinci used a rare and unstable mineral component to prepare the bottom layer of the iconic painting.
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The research mobilized several experts to carry out detailed examinations of the Renaissance painter's techniques.
Therefore, the investigation team was made up of researchers from the Louvre Museum, the Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Paris Chemical Research Institute (CNRS) English).
To understand the processes and compounds used by da Vinci, researchers translated the painter's recipes and manuscripts.
“The words used by Leonardo are very different from current terminology and the differences between terms used in painting and chemistry,” said researcher Marine Cotte, in
Even so, the study confirmed two of the painter's main characteristics: his interest in innovation and experimentation. Scientists found a mineral compound called plumbonacrite, a mixture of oil and lead oxide.
“The research results show that he experimented with preparing thick, opaque soil layers,” explained Victor Gonzalez, one of the team's researchers.
In addition to the “Mona Lisa” painting, the mineral element is also present in the “Last Supper” (1495), another famous work by da Vinci.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons/Reproduction)
To identify the frame's components, scientists used X-ray microdiffraction techniques, spectroscopy infrared with micro Fourier transform and high-resolution X-ray diffraction with synchrotron.
Basically, they did a microscopic analysis of the layers of the painting and identified the mineral compound in the background layer.
(Image: reproduction/internet)
A) Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. B) Enlargement of the sampling area, showing the preparation layer. The exact location of the sample is indicated by a red arrow. W) Paint sample before being incorporated into resin. (Image: Gonzalez et al / Reproduction)
A curious point of the analysis is that the same component had already been identified in the painting “The Night Watch” (1642), a work by Rembrandt.
However, the two painters belong to different artistic periods, which has puzzled scientists about how this element was used in painting.
Finally, the result offered new data about the artistic processes of the famous Renaissance painter. Likewise, the data serves as a path to understanding the artist's evolution over time.
The complete research on the works of Leonardo da Vinci and his experiments was published in October in the scientific journal Journal of the American Chemical Society.
