by Jon Lackman | 27 September 2006 | Renaissance
From ANSA: “A French art expert has found evidence for the idea that the Mona Lisa had just given birth – and hence her enigmatic smile. Bruno Mottin of the French Museums’ Center for Research and Restoration has examined 3D images of Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic painting produced by laser and infrared scans … He said Leonardo had also changed his mind about the position of her hands. Originally, he depicted her gripping her chair as if she were about to get up whereas the final painting shows one hand placed relaxedly over the other … They showed that the painting was in good shape … But one puzzle the experts were unable to crack was the secret to the smoky technique or ‘sfumato’ which Leonardo used to such effect on the Mona Lisa.”
ANSA’s article concludes with an amusing tour of previous Mona Lisa theories: “One group of medical researchers has maintained that the sitter’s mouth is so firmly shut because she was undergoing mercury treatment for syphilis which turned her teeth black. An American dentist has claimed that the tight-lipped expression was typical of people who have lost their front teeth, while a Danish doctor was convinced she suffered from congenital palsy which affected the left side of her face and this is why her hands are overly large. A French surgeon has also put forth his view that she was semi-paralysed, perhaps as the result of a stroke, and that this explained why one hand looks relaxed and the other tense. Leading American feminist Camille Paglia simply concluded that the cool, appraising smile showed that ‘what Mona Lisa is ultimately saying is that males are unnecessary.’”
