Scan hints Mona Lisa pregnant for pose (was La Joconde pregnant?)

Associated Press ^ | 09/27/06

[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.

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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.

[AnAmericanMother]

Holbein was a splendid artist.

I love his sketches even more than his finished works.

St. Thomas More (I just realized that our church music director bears more than a passing resemblance to him . . .)

[RetiredArmy]

And, it matters how, why? It does not affect anything whatsoever on this earth. Nothing.

[CremeSaver]

I agree I love Holbein work. I love his portrait of Henry VIII and of Henry's son Edward. He was brilliant and one of my favorites.

Thomas Moore is a hero of mine. The man had character, integrity, morality, humility, humor and a gentle kindness that truly made him a saint. Even without his contributions to England during Henry's reign Thomas Moore would have been known to history a great statesman. Too bad Henry chose to waste Moore's genius.

[AnAmericanMother]

A splendid man, everything an Englishman should be.

Henry wasn't fit to clean his shoes.

Red Mass tomorrow . . .

[CremeSaver]

Yes, he was. Have you ever seen A Man For All Seasons? It was an excellent movie about Saint/Sir Thomas Moore. (It was made when Hollywood actually made beautiful movies.) If you haven't seen it, try to rent it. I think you would like it a lot.

As for Henry, ugh, the only good thing that man did was sire Elizabeth the First. Now she was a remarkable woman. :O)

[AnAmericanMother]

It's a very good play by Robert Bolt and an excellent movie. It plays fast and loose with some historical facts, but history doesn't always make a good two-hour movie.

Orson Welles was over the top, but what else is new? < g >

[CremeSaver]

Oh, fantastic you have seen it. (I have read the play also.) Years ago, I went to a small theater in Daytona Beach to see the play. I wasn't expecting much, but they did such an excellent job with production that I couldn't wait for the movie. Have you seen Anne of a Thousand Days? It starred Richard Burton and Genevieve Bujold (my spelling is probably atrocious). Quite a few historically based movies came out at that time. I have all of them on DVD and never tire of seeing them. :O)

[AnAmericanMother]

The sixties were an excellent era for good, solid historical dramas.

Some other notables were Lawrence of Arabia, Mutiny on the Bounty, Becket . . . it really was quite a run in the sixties.

[CremeSaver]

How about A Lion in Winter? It has to have the best cast of any movie that I have ever seen with Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, just to mention a few. What performances they gave. I still have most of the books that I bought in 60's. They are yellowed, the glue is dried out and pages fall out but they are still my favorites. Jean Plaidy and Margaret Campbell Barnes were two of the best authors of historical fiction.

[Syncro]

Oh I think that Frisco has a dark, prurient underbelly...but you are right, it is not PC to openly display such behavior.

[SoCal Pubbie]

You might want to think first, before displaying your ignorance for the whole world to see. As a professional designer, I am very interested in the techniques of one of the greatest artistic geniuses of all time. As a person interested in history, I am intrigued by the back story of great works of art. If you lack the imagination to appreciate such things, why not just take a pass on these kinds of stories?

[AnAmericanMother]

I like Georgette Heyer - her historical novels are excellent (actually her Regency romances are very clever and historically accurate as well).

[CremeSaver]

You and my daughter would have a lot to talk about she loves those too. I am a big fan of the Plantagenet Family, and Jean Plaidy, MCB, and Thomas Costain did quite a few books on the subject. Thomas Costain is probably more famous for The Silver Chalice, but his series on The Plantagenet family is one of the best I have ever read. It is history that reads like a novel, excellently done.

[PresbyRev]

More had six Lutherans martyred and many more Protestants tortured - some in his own home. "Gentle kindness" befitting a saint? Nah.

[CremeSaver]

I take it that you are not a fan of St. Thomas More? I am a Lutheran myself, but I realize that the times when More lived were quite different from the times that we live in now. I do believe that this was a man of integrity, honor, and humility at a time when those character traits were not common to most people who were involved in public life. I don't believe that St. Thomas would ever be the cause of hurting another human being. I do believe that once he had taken an oath to uphold the laws of the land he would keep that oath even at his own peril as history confirms.

I am curious as to what Protestants were killed in Thomas More's home. This is a story that I have not heard before.

[Blind Eye Jones]

"...there were no signs of any brush stroke."

He probably used a roller.

[Mamzelle]

re: who cares...

Well, the DaVinci code drones calim ML is a man in drag.

[RetiredArmy]

Stick your professional designed bragging. Just because I think this is meaningless, and who cares if a painting that was painted hundreds of years ago, that the model was pregnant or not pregnant, has nothing to do with nothing. Crap your own stupid ignorance.

[RetiredArmy]

I guess they were all there and saw it. These people who have nothing better to do with their time. What bothers me most is that someone is actually PAYING these people a salary to do this kind of stuff. This world has enough problems and needs that need to be solved, without crapping money down the toilet for stupid crap like this.

[SoCal Pubbie]

First of all, you asked who cared, and I answered. Is it really that important to you that everyone else's view comports to your own? Second, you didn't write your first post as your opinion, you stated it as fact. The fact that something may not affect our lives does not necessarily limit our interest. Who wins the Super Bowl or a NASCAR race may not affect our lives, but it does matter to some people, now doesn't it? How the pyramids were built may not really change our day to day activities, but some people are interested in the subject, aren't they?

Second, as a retired military man, certain small but interesting facts of history might pique your curiosity, do you agree? You might find whether or not Napoleon sat out Waterloo with hemorrhoids interesting, where others might be bored, for example. Third, the article was not only about the model's physical state but also about Da Vinci's techniques of layering paint.

Finally, now really, just because you or I or anyone else isn't interested in a particular subject doesn't mean anyone else should give a flying rip about that person's opinion, does it?