Leonardo da Vinci, a famous painter, inventor, and anatomist, is known for his many talents.
A new study suggests that he was also an innovative chemist. Researchers have discovered something unexpected about his iconic painting, the “Mona Lisa.”
They used special tools like X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy to investigate the artwork, and their findings shed light on how the painting was made.
In addition to the lead white pigment and oil, the researchers found a rare mineral compound called plumbonacrite in the bottom layer of the paint.
This compound had been previously found in works by the artist Rembrandt from the 17th century.
However, it had never been seen in Italian Renaissance paintings until this study.
Plumbonacrite forms when lead oxides combine with oil.
It’s a technique later artists like Rembrandt used to help their paint dry.
This discovery in the “Mona Lisa” suggests that Leonardo might have been the first to use this method.
Gilles Wallez, a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris and one of the study’s authors, explained, “Everything which comes from Leonardo is very interesting because he was an artist, of course, but he was also a chemist, a physicist — he had lots of ideas, and he was an experimenter … attempting to improve the knowledge of his time.”
“Each time you discover something on his processes, you discover that he was clearly ahead of his time,” Wallez said.
During the 16th century, paintings like the “Mona Lisa” were created on wooden panels that required a thick base layer.
The researchers believe that Leonardo created his mixture of lead oxide powder and linseed oil for this purpose, unknowingly giving rise to the rare plumbonacrite compound.
Analyzing the “Mona Lisa” was a challenge because it’s now protected behind glass at the Louvre in Paris.
However, researchers used a tiny sample taken in 2007 from an area just behind the painting’s frame.
They employed a high-tech machine called a synchrotron, which allowed them to study the composition of the speck on a molecular level.
Wallez explained, “These samples have a very high cultural value.
You can’t afford to take big samples on a painting, so a synchrotron is the best way to analyze them.”
Surprisingly, the base layer of Leonardo’s mural “The Last Supper” had the same chemical makeup as the “Mona Lisa,” even though it was painted on a wall.
The researchers had access to more samples from “The Last Supper” to study, which helped confirm their findings.
Leonardo only created a few paintings during his lifetime, including the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.”
Researchers hope that further studies will reveal more about this extraordinary artist and his innovative techniques.
William Wallace, an expert in Renaissance art and architecture, commented, “We have long known that Leonardo was an inveterate experimenter, Therefore, it is not all surprising that we see him experimenting in other media, especially given his dedicated search for the best painterly techniques (often untraditional) to create his ‘living’ works of art.”
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