PARIS (LALATE) – The Mona Lisa, of Lisa Gherardini, has now produced new relevations as a result of x-ray research work. The Mona Lisa has long thought to be a painting of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a merchant in Florence.

Biographer Giorgio Vasari wrote in the 16th century that the picture of Lisa started in 1503 and took four years. Today the official description of the work in the Louvre is The Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

But now scientists from the Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France have uncovered  about the layering of paints that make up Gherardini’s image in the Mona Lisa. The technique is called X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It analyzes the glaze and plaint. Da Vinci used on the Mona Lisa “sfumato”, a mix of pigment, glaze and oil; the result is blending of light and dark to create a realistic feel to the work.

The new researchers have now determined that there may be as many as 30 layers of paint in the Mona Lisa! Those layers are what created its subtlety.

Senior scientist Philippe Walter presents his findings in the upcoming publication of Angewandte Chemie International Edition. He tells EuroNews this weekend “We realize when glazed over, for instance on the ‘Mona Lisa,’ that he managed to place layers as thin as one or two micrometers, which means one or two thousandths of a millimeter. By super-imposing the layers very progressively and slowly, he managed to create the effect he was seeking.”