Scientists open secrecy of 'Mona Lisa'

(July 17) -- It's one of the belongings about the 'Mona Lisa' that's long puzzled art historians and viewers the same how Leonardo da Vinci used elementary pigments in the year 1503 to make such humble shadows and light on the mystifying woman's face.

And it's taken scientists more than 400 years to come up with technology to figure out how.

Now French researchers are using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, a noninvasive technique, to separate and study each ultra-thin layer of paint and finish da Vinci used on the Mona Lisa and six other paintings at Paris' Louvre Museum. Scientists from the Center for investigate and reinstallation of the Museums of France brought their high-tech machine into the museum while it was closed, and zeroed in on faces depict in the paintings, which have a faraway, unclear quality about them.

Da Vinci used a new beginning painting performance called "sfumato," addition thin layers of color, cover and oil intricately to yield the outward show of faithful shadows and light. The performance is well known and has been employed by other artists over the years. But only how have scientists been able to examine just how complicated da Vinci's layers are.

                                                                                                                                 Specialists from the Center for investigate and reinstallation of the Museums of France found that Leonardo da Vinci painted up to 30 layers of paint on his works to get together his standards of detail.

They consider da Vinci used up to 30 layers of paint on his works. But overall they only add up to a width of less than 40 micrometers of paint -- about half the width of a human hair. information were reported Friday by a number of news agencies. 

The scientists were capable to beam X-ray technology at the paintings without even removing them from the museum wall.