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3D Technologies

3D Examination of the Mona Lisa

Image representing the Mona Lisa project

Mona Lisa: A Scientific Examination - Click on the image to view the results

Screen capture from the Mona Lisa 3D model that has been constructed

Click here to see an animation of the high resolution 3D model that was constructed from the data acquired by the 3D color laser scanner

Explore the Mona Lisa
Flash version | HTML version

Wouldn't you like to get up close and personal with one of the world's most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa? For centuries, the Mona Lisa has captured the hearts and interest of millions of people worldwide, hoping to understand her charm, mystery and story. Most of us dream of visiting the Louvre one day to catch a glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci's famous masterpiece - and it is just that, a glimpse. The painting is highly secured under a thick pane of bulletproof glass, and a railing that only allows you to get within 10 feet of her.

The National Research Council has been privileged with the opportunity to examine and study the famous painting in order to shed some light on its composition, style and state of conservation. Using highly modern and leading-edge techniques, the NRC research team was able to scan the painting and collect a plethora of data that has been analyzed and examined in the world's most extensive study ever performed. Now, we are able to see the layers in the painting, the shape of the wood panel, the damage and cracks in the painting and the artist's style and technique in never before seen views and images.

This animation shows the NRC team in Paris scanning the Mona Lisa.

Background

At the request of the Paintings Department of the Louvre, the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF) undertook the study on the Mona Lisa. This study coincided with the move of the painting to the new Salle des États, and is considered the most extensive scientific examination on a painting ever undertaken. As part of this project, the C2RMF invited a team of 3D scientists from the NRC to participate, because of their renowned expertise in 3D Imaging and modeling technologies.

The study of the Mona Lisa was undertaken during the autumn of 2004. The NRC team had access to scan the painting for only a few hours over two evenings in October 2004. For the project, a 3D color laser scanner designed and built by NRC was brought to Paris to scan the complete painting - obverse and reverse. The triangulation-based system scanned a low power white laser spot over the painting in order to produce a high-resolution archival quality 3D digital model of the shape and color of the painting's surface.

NRC's role was to scan the complete painting - obverse and reverse - in order to prepare a complete high-resolution archival quality 3-D model of the painting. The 3-D model was used:

to document and precisely measure the distorted shape of the poplar panel,
to examine surface features of the composition, the craquelure in the paint layer, the split in the panel, surface lacunae and
to help the study of both the painting's state of conservation and da Vinci's technique, in particular his sfumato.

In addition, the 3-D image data is also being used to prepare a high-resolution interactive display of the painting.

The results, presented in Chapter 4 of Au coeur de La Joconde published by Éditions Gallimard, provide a number of unique new types of image information to assist curators and conservators in their studies. An English version of the book, Mona Lisa: Inside the Painting, published by Harry N. Abrams Inc. is also available, as is a German edition titled Mona Lisa: Das große Buch zum berühmtesten Gemälde der Welt published by Schirmer/Mosel.

For more information about this project, please:

Research Contact

François Blais
Research Officer
Visual Information Technology
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Building M-50, Room 359
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Telephone: +1 (613) 993-3285
Fax: +1 (613) 952-0215
E-mail: Francois.Blais@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Business Contact

Charles Gauthier
Business Development Officer
Business Development Office, NCR
NRC Institute for Information Technology
1200 Montreal Road
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Telephone: +1 (613) 993-2491
Fax: +1 (613) 952-7998
E-mail: Charles Gauthier