Science decodes da Vinci's secrets

Leonardo da Vinci did not mix colours on a palette, but directly on the canvas he was painting, Italian researchers have found.

The discovery occurred when one of the Renaissance master's artworks was bombarded with a narrow beam of high-energy ions.

The study decodes for the first time Leonardo's painting technique and was presented at the 9th European Conference on Accelerators in Applied Research and Development, an international conference running this week in Florence.

Researchers at the Nuclear Techniques Laboratory for Cultural Heritage in Florence used a nuclear accelerator device that launches particles at high speed to determine the composition of the oil-on-wood painting Madonna of the Yarnwinder, completed in 1501.

"This non-destructive technology not only made it possible to identify pigments in the various paint layers, but also allowed us to decipher how Leonardo created his works. It was as if we were watching him while he painted," says Dr Cecilia Frosinini, an art historian at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure restoration lab in Florence.

The technology basically dissected Leonardo's work, stroke by stroke.

"We were able to examine as never before the layers of colour, their thickness and how they were placed on the canvas," Frosinini says.

It emerged that Leonardo applied very thin layers of colour on top of each other to create a rich texture and an almost 3D effect.

That conclusion comes as no surprise to some art historians.

"I think this is a very interesting study, though it doesn't really add much to our knowledge," says Professor Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, where the artist was born.

"It confirms from a scientific point of view what scholars had already long known."

Da Vinci himself mentioned his painting technique known as 'sfumato', from the Italian word 'fumo', meaning smoke, in his notes on painting.

"Light and shade should blend without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke," he wrote.

According to Vezzosi, it is no surprise that the Renaissance genius did not use the palette.

"Colour dilution was very important for Leonardo. He put a lot of effort in preparing the colours, so he did not have to mix them on the palette," Vezzosi says.

"Often, he did not use the brush either. He applied the thin layer of colours using his thumb. He used this technique often in his later work, especially on the Mona Lisa."

source: discovery news