The 3D Examination of the Mona Lisa

Large high-quality glass panels displaying high-resolution magnified sections of the Mona Lisa presented at the MNBAQ. Photo credit: Patrick Altman, Head Photographer, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.

Click here to view the video presenting the results of the 3D examination of the Mona Lisa being shown continuously in high definition on a plasma screen at the MNBAQ. Photo credit: Patrick Altman, Head Photographer, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.

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

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

The Mona Lisa Unveiled in Quebec City

Many dream of uncovering the secrets of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece and one of the jewels of the Louvre. From June 5 to October 26, 2008, as part of the festivities celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) presents some of the results of a 3D examination of the Mona Lisa conducted by the National Research Council Canada (NRC), at the "Le Louvre à Québec. Les arts et la vie" exhibition. The 3D model of the Mona Lisa is part of an international exhibition held exclusively at the MNBAQ, along with 271 original works, and several statues from the Musée du Louvre collection.

An educational audiovisual document presenting various aspects of the painting teaches the public about the technology used by the NRC Institute for Information Technology (NRC-IIT) and the results of the 3D examination of the Mona Lisa. The results are shown continuously in high definition on a plasma screen. The document produced by the NRC shows digital images of the masterpiece that Leonardo da Vinci painted over 500 years ago.

In addition, large high-quality glass panels, designed in cooperation with Atelier PhotoGlas of Vienna, display high-resolution magnified sections of the Mona Lisa.

For more information on the presentation of the research results at the MNBAQ, please refer to:

• the backgrounder
• the Q&A
• the educational audiovisual document (in Flash format)

Background on the revealing of the research results in 2006

In fall 2004, as part of scientific collaboration with the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF), which invited a team of 3D imaging researchers from NRC to participate in the most detailed scientific examination ever conducted of the Mona Lisa. Three-dimensional imaging is increasingly recognized as a valuable new tool in the documentation analysis of works of art.

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.

Related Information

3D Imaging, Modeling and Visualization

Q As on the presentation of the research results at the MNBAQ

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Information Technology