Science Reveals Another Secret of Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers discovered evidence not only of white lead pigment and oil in the layer beneath the artwork but of lead oxide, an orange pigment that helped the paint dry and make it thicker.
Many works from da Vinci’s time, including the “Mona Lisa,” were painted on wooden panels. The study concluded that the artist, also an engineer, likely added the lead oxide to create an opaque preparatory undercoat thick enough to cover the wood.
The research reflects the continued fascination with the famous painting, considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance.