ArtCorner

For many years, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has fascinated art historians. A French Scientist has researched the answers behind the fate of Mona Lisa’s missing eyebrows and lashes.

Pascal Cotte, the French Scientist, says his ultra-detailed digital scans of the masterpiece allow him to effectively skim through layers of paint to “see” into the past of Leonardo Da Vinci’s 16th-century portrait of a Florentine merchant’s wife.

According to Cotte, the world’s most famous painting originally included both brows and lashes. The scans of the painting reveal traces of Mona Lisa’s left brow that disappeared due to faulty restoration efforts.

Cotte’s published numerous findings:

• Da Vinci changed his mind about the position of two fingers on the subject’s left hand.
• Her face was originally wider and the smile more expressive than Da Vinci ultimately painted them.
• She holds a blanket that has all but faded from view today.

Cotte said his analyses also revealed what he believes are the painting’s colors as they looked on Da Vinci’s easel.
“Mona Lisa” is the first of many masterpieces Cotte is planning to scan and help bring their past back to life.