Mona Lisa is a beautiful pregnant woman!

Removed from the protective glass frame and undergoing the most complete scientific testing process ever, Leonardo da Vinci's La Joconde has revealed an interesting surprise.

"La Joconde is a victim of his own fame. Since this is a" untouchable "work, La Joconde is by far the most poorly researched painting in the world. " Expert Bruno Mottin of the French Museum and Research Center (C2RMF) and the curator of this painting said.

But then, the rare occasion has arrived. In October 2004, the painting was transferred to a new gallery that had just been refurbished. So the Louvre Museum's board of directors decided to re-examine the current state of the painting so that it could devise better preservation measures in new conditions and locations.

39 image specialists participated in " catching the circuit "

The working spirit of the team has been greatly encouraged to know that I will " face " the Mona Lisa. At the same time, the standard is also set very strictly: any survey in any form should not leave traces, even the smallest, on the picture; Do not perform mechanical collisions on the surface of the painting; All stages of the test must be discreet, not for visitors to discover. And a more rigorous thing about time: experts can only allow three unique sessions with La Joconde, so they have to make detailed plans to make the most of the time the Mona Lisa " free "on the third day, when the museum closes weekly, to carry out the work.

C2RMF hastily prepared. Colleagues from universities Nancy, Montpellier, Poitiers, and both from Ottawa (Canada) and Firenze (Italy) were also invited. A total of 39 specialists participated in the joint work. Finally, they analyzed a lot of precious data from photos taken with the most modern techniques. And they have discovered many of the most mysterious "details" ever for historians to study this picture.

Mona Lisa wears a woman's outfit . pregnant

Mona Lisa's hair is covered with a very fashionable bonnet hat at the time (Photo: SGTT)

First, the experts put all their attention on the Mona Lisa's hairstyle. At first glance, this seems to be a long hair. In the 16th century, according to historical records, it was a way for lonely girls and prostitutes to get their hair! But Mona Lisa is the wife of a wealthy merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. At the time of the painting, she was about 25 years old and had at least one child. So, why did Leonardo da Vinci portray Mona Lisa through an unusual hair? Finally, infrared reflection techniques answered.

This shooting method allows the technical team to " transparent " some of the exterior paint to reveal other layers of paint below. So the experts have easily " erased " the coating that has been yellowed and darkened over time. And they were surprised to find that the Mona Lisa's hair was actually an elaborately groomed hairstyle, wrapped in a thin veil of chiffon, and seemed to be squeezed underneath in the form of a hood ( bonnet hat).

Expert Bruno Mottin explained : "It is a light gray, maybe chiffon, chiffon scarf that Francesco del Giocondo sells, and has a thin fringe on the edge of the fabric. This border is quite visible in If you look at it with the naked eye, you will notice that the thin edge of the chiffon will disappear under the hair, only after seeing the result of the reaction. Infra-red radiation, we can clearly see the entire full border of that sheet ". In short, this is a very "a la mode " combing style at the time, showing that the Mona Lisa takes good care of her hair.

Mona Lisa wears a guarnello dress for pregnant women, just like this woman's shirt (Botticelli's Smerralda Brandini Portrait, 1470) - (Photo: SGTT)

But that is not all. Because the Mona Lisa's outfit also raises doubts: Is the shirt really black, brown or even green? Is it made of silk or velvet? On the other hand, no historian has found a similar style of clothing shown in Renaissance paintings in Europe. And also with the infrared reflection method, this secret was unexpectedly lifted: it was a shirt that revealed bare shoulders. And there are very thin pieces of chiffon covering the outside of this shirt, lightly covering the left shoulder and the back of the chair. In addition, the piece of chiffon also seems to be sewn with the upper hem of the embroidered collar very cleverly and worn as a layer of outerwear.

At this point it was quite clear: this outfit was very popular in the Renaissance - a type of blouse for children and women who were pregnant or just born, called guarnello. And when I found out that the Mona Lisa gave birth to her second son, Andrea, on December 1, 1992, the conclusion and conclusion may have been clear: the La Joconde was drawn at the employer's request to welcome The above happy event.

And, "in the end, there is no mystery hidden behind this picture. But first, La Joconde himself knew all the talents of a painting master Leonardo da Vinci. It is the true mystery of the picture, the mysteries we just discovered here, " concluded Bruno Mottin.

Now all of us are able to see and understand Mona Lisa, and share our special feelings for all the participants. Because of this great opportunity to have access to La Joconde and the Mona Lisa will surely be difficult to repeat in the near future. The most recent scientific examination took place more than 50 years ago!

Manh Hung