2023-10-17 11:44:00
02:44 PM Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci was famous for using unconventional methods and materials in his paintings, and scientists are still discovering more regarding his innovations, the latest of which is the mixture of toxic dyes in the Mona Lisa.
Researchers from France and the United Kingdom examined a small microscopic sample taken from a hidden corner of the Mona Lisa painting, and used a variety of X-ray techniques and infrared spectroscopy to determine the materials used.
The team found not only oil and white lead – as expected – but also the rare compound bromponacrite (Pb5(CO3)3O(OH)2), according to research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Plumponacrite is formed when oil and lead(II) oxide (or PbO) react together, suggesting that da Vinci used the latter compound.
“It is likely that Leonardo sought to prepare a suitable thick paint to cover the wood panel of the Mona Lisa by treating the oil with a high amount of lead(II) oxide, PbO,” the researchers wrote in their published paper.
The same compound, PbO, was found in several microscopic samples taken from the surface of The Last Supper, another famous painting by Da Vinci. However, the only references to this compound in the Italian artist’s writings were related to skin and hair treatments.
Although it was not included in his writings, da Vinci appears to have used lead oxide as a ground layer. It’s something that was hypothesized before, but we now have more direct evidence for it, according to the specialized scientific website Science Alert.
Andelvinci likely heated lead oxide and dissolved it in linseed or walnut oil, producing a mixture that was thicker and faster-drying than traditional oil paints – a recipe that was later used by other artists.
The same substance, bluebonacrite, was discovered in the painting The Night Patrol, which Rembrandt painted in 1642, almost a century and a half following the Mona Lisa. This suggests that the Dutch artist used a style similar to Da Vinci.
The discovery is a testament to the continuing creativity of Leonardo da Vinci, a man who achieved greatness not only in his paintings, but also in many other fields – including mathematics, chemistry and engineering.
“He was a person who loved to experiment, and each of his paintings was artistically very different,” chemist Victor Gonzalez, of the Institute of Chemistry Research in Paris in France, told the Associated Press.
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