Two researchers, including a physician from the Institut des nanosciences de Paris (CNRS/Université Paris 6/ Université Paris 7) who teaches at Université Evry Val-Essonne, have revealed for the first time the make-up of the famous « sfumato, » the artistic technique used by da Vinci to paint faces. After a virtual unveiling of the Mona Lisa, they showed the presence of a glaze, a painting technique invited by early Flemish painters and which was not in use in that day and age in Italy. They also identified the components of the first layer of paint as well as an in-between layer. This work is published on the web site of the journal Applied Optics.
To learn more, please consult the CNRS press release (in French).
