By studying the chemical structure of a tiny dot in the famous artwork using X-rays, scientists have learned more about the techniques Leonardo da Vinci used to paint his most famous portrait, that of a woman’s enigmatic smile.
The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, suggests that the famously curious, erudite and inventive Italian Renaissance master may have been in a particularly experimental mood when he began work on La Mona Lisa in the early 16th century started.
A team of scientists and researchers have discovered that the oil paint recipe that Leonardo da Vinci used as a base coat to create the poplar wood panel for the Mona Lisa appeared to deviate from the norm and had a chemical signature characteristic of art history from France and Britain.
Victor Gonzalez, lead author of the study, examined the chemical composition of dozens of works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and other artists.
He was someone who loved experimentation and each of his paintings was completely different on a technical level, the man, who is also a chemist at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), told the Associated Press.
Leadonacrit, Leonardo’s secret ingredient Vinci
Scientists have found a rare compound, leadonacrite, in the first paint Leonardo da Vinci used on the base of the Mona Lisa.
According to Victor Gonzalez, this find confirms the doubts of several art historians. Leadonacrit is a byproduct of lead oxide, allowing scientists to say with greater certainty that Leonardo da Vinci used lead oxide powder to thicken his paint and help it dry.
“This shows Leonardo da Vinci’s constant experimental spirit as a painter – which makes him timeless and modern,” said Carmen Bambach, a specialist in Italian art and curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) in New York.
The color fragment from the Mona Lisa’s base coat analyzed for the study is barely visible to the naked eye and has a diameter no larger than a human hair. It comes from the upper right corner of the work.
Scientists observed the atomic structure of the fragment using X-rays in a synchrotron, a large machine that accelerates elementary particles to nearly the speed of light.
“Plumonacrite is really a replica of his recipe,” said Victor Gonzalez. This is the first time we can confirm it chemically.
With information from Associated Press