Museum of Science and Industry

A new addition to the Da Vinci – The Genius exhibition is the Secrets of Mona Lisa display, the UK premiere of which is here at MOSI.

French scientific engineer and photographer of fine art, Pascal Cotte was granted unprecedented access by the French Government and The Louvre Museum to conduct an extensive scientific evaluation of this masterpiece using his 240-million pixel camera.  He did so under strict security and supervision, taking her out of her frame and away from the protective glass enclosure. His photographic examination and findings have startled the art world – making 25 revelations including identifying her original pigment colours, proving she indeed did have eyebrows and eyelashes and producing the world’s only 360 ° walk around replica.

Revolutionary technology bringing science and art together, just as Leonardo did over 500 years ago.

Inside the exhibition will be:

• The unveiling of the 25 secret revelations about the priceless and world’s most famous painting: Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
• A 4m x 3m giant infrared photograph showing details of the masterpiece never before seen
• Extraordinary details of previously undisclosed and new discoveries about the masterpiece
• The most accurate replica of the Mona Lisa ever made, without the frame and on wood displayed as a 360° walk around piece
• The ability to examine and compare displays of her colour as she is now, her original colour in 1506, and her colour with varnish removed
• Amazing high definition giant images of the painting and various sections, at a resolution of 1500dpi revealing incredible details that cannot be seen under normal conditions by the human eye
• Pascal reveals how he and his team were allowed unprecedented access to the Mona Lisa by The Louvre – to photograph the painting “in the nude” (outside of its frame and without its protective enclosure) and make scientific examinations that resulted in the secrets revealed and on display at Da Vinci - The Genius.