Whoopie's that old?.....:))
Posted on 09/27/2006 11:37:35 AM PDT by presidio9
Researchers using three-dimensional technology to study the "Mona Lisa" say the woman depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's 16th century masterpiece was either pregnant or had recently given birth when she sat for the painting.
ADVERTISEMENT
That was one of many discoveries found by French and Canadian researchers during one of the most extensive physical examinations ever carried out on the artwork.
"Thanks to laser scanning, we were able to uncover the very fine gauze veil Mona Lisa was wearing on her dress. This was something typical for either soon-to-be or new mothers at the time," Michel Menu, research director of the French Museums' Center for Research and Restoration, said Wednesday on LCI television.
Menu said a number of art historians had suggested that she was pregnant or had just given birth.
Researchers have established that the picture was of Lisa Gherardini, wife of obscure Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocond, and that Leonardo started painting it in 1503.
The name "Mona Lisa" is the equivalent of "Madame Lisa." La Joconde, as the painting is referred to in many countries, is the French version of her married name.
The scan revealed depth resolution so detailed it was possible to see differences in the height around the paint surface cracks and in the thickness of the varnish.
"We now have very precise information about the thickness of the layers," Bruno Mottin, of the French restoration center, told reporters in Ottawa, Canada. "We know how the painting is painted, with very thin layers of painting. That's one of the things we couldn't see by the naked eye, and that Canadian technology brought us."
John Taylor of Canada's National Research Council said there were no signs of any brush stroke. "That includes the very fine details of the embroidery on the dress, the hair," he said. "This is the 'je ne sais quoi' of Leonardo. The genius. We don't know how he applied it."
The scan even revealed Leonardo's first conception of Mona Lisa.
"The 3-D imaging was able to detect the incised drawing to provide us with da Vinci's general conception for the composition," said Christian Lahanier, head of the documentation department of the French research center.
The artist brought the painting to France in 1517. It has been in the Louvre Museum since 1804.
The data collected in 16 hours of scanning, starting in 2004, took a year to analyze. It shows warping in the poplar panel Leonardo used as his canvas, but the Mona Lisa smile is not threatened.
"We didn't see any sign of paint lifting," Taylor said. "So for a 500-year-old painting, it's very good news. And if they continue to keep it the way they have in an environment-controlled chamber, it could remain like that for a very long time."
Menu said all the secrets behind the enigmatic painting have yet to be revealed, including Leonardo's techniques.
"We particularly want to understand how he painted his shadows, the famous 'fumato' effect," Menu said.
I wonder, was there really a romance between Anne and Hans? And when he painted her portrait was he a man in love? Was he looking at her through the eyes of love and seeing something that wasn't there? Nah, I don't think so.:O)
Whoopie's that old?.....:))
Wrong.
Wrong.
WRONG.
I didn't know that; Bloody Mary yet! Was it a Catholic funeral, I wonder?
Duh gee, I thought a man was posed .... that's what Dan Brown said..... if Dan Brown said it, it must be true! /sarc
I'm going to have to look that up, but something tells me that Anne became a Catholic. ???? Off to research.
Yeah. Guilty as charged.
Or how about this. Leveraging from the Free State Project idea. Pick the most endangered countries in Europe and move there. In particular, traditional Catholics and LDS need to be incented. You know why ... then, start to build real walls, just like the old days. Transform the military into a lean mean barbarian killing machine. Etc. There was this guy named Charlemagne, who started out as a nobody, with a similar plan.
Our culture is European. If they won't do it, then let us go there, take it over, and lead.
"It was the fashion of the day for ladies to shave their eyebrows."
I realize that, but it just looks odd. Reminds me of Whoopie Goldberg.
""she that was dull, stupid, without grace of form, knew no music and could not sing, blah, blah etc," but to me, I though her the loveliest of Henry the VIIIth's wives."
I have always heard that Holbein embellished a bit in his interpretation of Anne and that, when they finally met, Henry was none too happy with the actual model.
LOL!
They totally transform her expression, too.
Now she looks conniving.....;D
[or Vulcan]
LOL! I would say that Anne was far more shocked by seeing Henry than Henry was at seeing Anne. By the time they met Henry was quite obese and had runny ulcerated sores on his legs which smelled very badly. I think the eventual divorce made her very happy for two reasons. 1) She got rid of Henry; and 2) She got to keep her head on her shoulders and die peacefully in her own bed. :O)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.