1 00:00:01,167 --> 00:00:02,334 NARRATOR: Coming up, on "Secrets of the Dead"... 2 00:00:02,336 --> 00:00:04,903 her smile has captured the world's imagination. 3 00:00:04,905 --> 00:00:07,740 MAN: This woman smiling, looking at you, 4 00:00:07,742 --> 00:00:09,174 it's very intimate. 5 00:00:09,176 --> 00:00:10,743 NARRATOR: But there is a second "Mona Lisa" 6 00:00:10,745 --> 00:00:13,412 with that same enigmatic smile. 7 00:00:13,414 --> 00:00:17,716 Did Leonardo da Vinci paint the most famous work of art twice? 8 00:00:17,718 --> 00:00:20,119 Now art historians are using science 9 00:00:20,121 --> 00:00:21,553 to uncover the truth. 10 00:00:21,555 --> 00:00:24,857 We found that the histograms for the two "Mona Lisa"s 11 00:00:24,859 --> 00:00:26,759 are virtually identical. 12 00:00:26,761 --> 00:00:28,227 NARRATOR: "The 'Mona Lisa' Mystery," 13 00:00:28,229 --> 00:00:29,728 on "Secrets of the Dead." 14 00:00:45,612 --> 00:00:48,047 "Secrets of the Dead" was made possible in part 15 00:00:48,049 --> 00:00:50,115 by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 16 00:00:50,117 --> 00:00:53,485 and by contributions to your PBS station from... 17 00:01:01,795 --> 00:01:03,896 NARRATOR: She is the most famous work of art 18 00:01:03,898 --> 00:01:05,764 in the world. 19 00:01:05,766 --> 00:01:08,167 Her name synonymous with intrigue. 20 00:01:10,870 --> 00:01:14,573 Her expression guards a secret 5 centuries old. 21 00:01:16,309 --> 00:01:20,546 You see a face which is just about to smile. 22 00:01:22,248 --> 00:01:24,249 It's almost a philosophical picture, 23 00:01:24,251 --> 00:01:27,086 and it's a demonstration of what painting can do. 24 00:01:28,822 --> 00:01:31,223 NARRATOR: The "Mona Lisa" wasn't always a celebrity. 25 00:01:31,225 --> 00:01:35,928 She didn't steal the spotlight until she was stolen herself. 26 00:01:35,930 --> 00:01:38,931 Vanished, hidden away for more than two years. 27 00:01:42,802 --> 00:01:46,071 In her absence, a second "Mona Lisa" appeared. 28 00:01:47,974 --> 00:01:49,875 She looked younger and fresher. 29 00:01:53,847 --> 00:01:55,481 But she was unfinished. 30 00:01:59,886 --> 00:02:02,154 Had Leonardo da Vinci painted the world's 31 00:02:02,156 --> 00:02:04,389 most famous portrait twice? 32 00:02:08,795 --> 00:02:11,663 Evidence suggests Leonardo worked on the "Mona Lisa" 33 00:02:11,665 --> 00:02:14,166 at two different periods in his life 34 00:02:14,168 --> 00:02:15,801 more than a decade apart. 35 00:02:16,803 --> 00:02:19,671 Is this missing link an early study 36 00:02:19,673 --> 00:02:21,440 for the legendary portrait? 37 00:02:21,442 --> 00:02:23,909 Is it a copy from Leonardo's studio? 38 00:02:25,845 --> 00:02:27,746 Or a most cunning forgery? 39 00:02:29,916 --> 00:02:32,551 Now with recently unearthed archives 40 00:02:32,553 --> 00:02:34,286 and the latest science, 41 00:02:34,288 --> 00:02:36,922 experts set out to uncover the secrets 42 00:02:36,924 --> 00:02:39,024 behind her enigmatic smile... 43 00:02:45,832 --> 00:02:49,535 and finally solve the mystery of the "Mona Lisa." 44 00:03:07,687 --> 00:03:09,521 August, 1911. 45 00:03:11,691 --> 00:03:13,926 At the Louvre Museum in Paris, 46 00:03:13,928 --> 00:03:16,461 a small portrait, the "Mona Lisa," 47 00:03:16,463 --> 00:03:19,064 hangs in a Renaissance gallery. 48 00:03:19,066 --> 00:03:21,967 Until now, she's been a work of little renown, 49 00:03:21,969 --> 00:03:24,469 but she's about to become a sensation. 50 00:03:25,872 --> 00:03:27,940 After the museum locks its doors, 51 00:03:27,942 --> 00:03:30,275 a handyman, Vincenzo Peruggia, 52 00:03:30,277 --> 00:03:31,743 climbs out of hiding 53 00:03:31,745 --> 00:03:33,845 and pries the portrait from its frame. 54 00:03:39,752 --> 00:03:42,221 He knows the layout of the gallery well. 55 00:03:42,223 --> 00:03:45,190 He was recently hired to do renovation work at the Louvre. 56 00:03:48,761 --> 00:03:51,863 Peruggia carefully wraps the priceless wooden panel 57 00:03:51,865 --> 00:03:53,031 in a cloth. 58 00:03:54,834 --> 00:03:56,835 The next morning, in broad daylight, 59 00:03:56,837 --> 00:03:59,905 he walks out with the "Mona Lisa" tucked under his arm. 60 00:04:01,374 --> 00:04:04,109 An entire day passes before anyone notices 61 00:04:04,111 --> 00:04:05,611 the masterpiece is missing. 62 00:04:06,946 --> 00:04:08,914 Then, she hits the headlines. 63 00:04:10,250 --> 00:04:12,751 Until the heist, Leonardo da Vinci's portrait 64 00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:14,720 was known mainly to art experts. 65 00:04:16,990 --> 00:04:21,560 Almost overnight, the "Mona Lisa" became a household name. 66 00:04:21,562 --> 00:04:23,996 The scandal had made her a superstar. 67 00:04:25,765 --> 00:04:28,100 The police interrogate a number of suspects 68 00:04:28,102 --> 00:04:30,902 but fail to zero in on the handyman. 69 00:04:30,904 --> 00:04:33,071 The "Mona Lisa" had vanished. 70 00:04:33,073 --> 00:04:35,774 No one knew if she would ever be seen again. 71 00:04:37,744 --> 00:04:39,711 Around the time of her disappearance, 72 00:04:39,713 --> 00:04:41,880 an art dealer was traveling through England 73 00:04:41,882 --> 00:04:43,749 in search of rare objects. 74 00:04:43,751 --> 00:04:46,818 He claimed that while visiting an estate in Somerset, 75 00:04:46,820 --> 00:04:49,888 someone made him an intriguing offer. 76 00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:52,491 The only recorded detail is the name of the buyer-- 77 00:04:52,493 --> 00:04:54,259 Hugh Blaker. 78 00:04:54,261 --> 00:04:55,927 The owner claimed a relative 79 00:04:55,929 --> 00:04:58,096 had returned from a grand tour of Italy, 80 00:04:58,098 --> 00:05:00,532 bringing a mysterious painting back with him. 81 00:05:02,769 --> 00:05:05,037 It was a most remarkable portrait. 82 00:05:06,706 --> 00:05:09,675 At first sight, it looked like the "Mona Lisa," 83 00:05:09,677 --> 00:05:11,743 but something about it was different. 84 00:05:13,813 --> 00:05:15,881 She seemed more youthful, 85 00:05:15,883 --> 00:05:17,582 but it seemed to be the same woman 86 00:05:17,584 --> 00:05:18,884 as in the famous portrait. 87 00:05:24,724 --> 00:05:28,060 She had been painted with a familiar perfection. 88 00:05:28,062 --> 00:05:31,330 Could she have been created by Leonardo da Vinci himself? 89 00:05:42,508 --> 00:05:46,578 In 1913, the "Mona Lisa" once again made headlines 90 00:05:46,580 --> 00:05:49,981 when the now-famous portrait was returned to the Louvre. 91 00:05:51,784 --> 00:05:54,920 The thief had hidden the painting for more than two years 92 00:05:54,922 --> 00:05:58,123 and was only caught while trying to sell it in Florence. 93 00:06:04,597 --> 00:06:07,099 In England, the art dealer Hugh Blaker 94 00:06:07,101 --> 00:06:09,301 allegedly bought the portrait he was offered, 95 00:06:09,303 --> 00:06:11,970 the so-called "Isleworth Mona Lisa." 96 00:06:15,708 --> 00:06:18,844 He wanted to know more about his mysterious acquisition. 97 00:06:21,814 --> 00:06:24,816 Could there actually be two "Mona Lisa"s? 98 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,921 [Man speaking Italian] TRANSLATOR: On the basis of 99 00:06:29,923 --> 00:06:31,390 the knowledge we have to date, 100 00:06:31,392 --> 00:06:33,992 there are two theories. 101 00:06:33,994 --> 00:06:35,694 According to the traditional theory, 102 00:06:35,696 --> 00:06:38,063 there is only one portrait in the Louvre. 103 00:06:40,233 --> 00:06:42,100 The other suggests that there are two 104 00:06:42,102 --> 00:06:43,668 completely different paintings. 105 00:06:45,838 --> 00:06:47,572 NARRATOR: Rumors of a second "Mona Lisa" 106 00:06:47,574 --> 00:06:49,274 had just begun to circulate, 107 00:06:49,276 --> 00:06:51,309 sparked by newly discovered records 108 00:06:51,311 --> 00:06:54,246 describing a different version of the painting. 109 00:06:54,248 --> 00:06:57,916 As an art dealer, Blaker was likely aware of the theory. 110 00:06:57,918 --> 00:06:59,785 Could he now be the proud owner 111 00:06:59,787 --> 00:07:01,920 of this fabled other "Mona Lisa"? 112 00:07:06,793 --> 00:07:09,161 The mystery of the "Mona Lisa" begins in Italy, 113 00:07:09,163 --> 00:07:13,231 during the cultural explosion of the 15th and 16th centuries-- 114 00:07:13,233 --> 00:07:14,366 the Renaissance. 115 00:07:15,768 --> 00:07:18,837 Leonardo, a central catalyst of the age, 116 00:07:18,839 --> 00:07:20,939 artist, inventor, engineer, 117 00:07:20,941 --> 00:07:23,742 was the definitive Renaissance man. 118 00:07:23,744 --> 00:07:26,478 His every act was driven by an insatiable 119 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,647 scientific curiosity. 120 00:07:28,649 --> 00:07:30,916 MAN: Leonardo described himself once 121 00:07:30,918 --> 00:07:34,853 as a [speaking Italian], 122 00:07:34,855 --> 00:07:38,356 which can either be translated as a disciple of experience 123 00:07:38,358 --> 00:07:41,193 or as a disciple of experiment. 124 00:07:41,195 --> 00:07:45,130 And throughout his life, Leonardo was a relentless, 125 00:07:45,132 --> 00:07:47,732 tough-minded experimenter. 126 00:07:47,734 --> 00:07:50,168 It was, in a sense, his creed, his belief 127 00:07:50,170 --> 00:07:53,905 in the importance of questioning, of searching, 128 00:07:53,907 --> 00:07:58,310 of investigating and experimenting. 129 00:07:58,312 --> 00:08:00,846 [Man speaking Italian] 130 00:08:00,848 --> 00:08:02,581 NARRATOR: He approached every challenge 131 00:08:02,583 --> 00:08:04,416 in technology or the arts 132 00:08:04,418 --> 00:08:07,619 with an unparalleled hunger for invention. 133 00:08:07,621 --> 00:08:11,590 He wants the picture to be a total remaking 134 00:08:11,592 --> 00:08:13,058 of the natural world. 135 00:08:13,060 --> 00:08:15,293 He wants everything to be in there. 136 00:08:15,295 --> 00:08:17,362 He wants movement, he wants life, 137 00:08:17,364 --> 00:08:19,364 he wants objects, he wants anatomy, 138 00:08:19,366 --> 00:08:22,133 he wants geology, he wants botany, 139 00:08:22,135 --> 00:08:24,536 and in a sense, that's more even 140 00:08:24,538 --> 00:08:26,805 than a moving film could do these days. 141 00:08:26,807 --> 00:08:28,974 So, in a way, it's an impossible agenda. 142 00:08:28,976 --> 00:08:31,009 He's setting a standard for a picture 143 00:08:31,011 --> 00:08:35,113 which no one, not even Leonardo, could possibly meet. 144 00:08:38,818 --> 00:08:41,920 NARRATOR: In 1503, the master took on a surprisingly 145 00:08:41,922 --> 00:08:43,088 simple commission. 146 00:08:46,826 --> 00:08:49,060 Keeping up with the nobility in Florence, 147 00:08:49,062 --> 00:08:51,496 one of the richest city-states in Italy, 148 00:08:51,498 --> 00:08:53,765 was not always easy for Leonardo. 149 00:08:56,802 --> 00:09:00,005 Leonardo's relationship with Florence was kind of 150 00:09:00,007 --> 00:09:02,007 a troubled relationship. 151 00:09:02,009 --> 00:09:04,376 Florence was associated with a world 152 00:09:04,378 --> 00:09:06,711 which he might have wanted to join 153 00:09:06,713 --> 00:09:08,480 but felt excluded from, 154 00:09:08,482 --> 00:09:10,215 partly from his illegitimacy, 155 00:09:10,217 --> 00:09:12,984 partly for temperamental reasons. 156 00:09:12,986 --> 00:09:16,454 So, he honed his craft and his skill here, 157 00:09:16,456 --> 00:09:18,089 but he never quite felt at home. 158 00:09:22,161 --> 00:09:24,529 He's even described at one point as being 159 00:09:24,531 --> 00:09:26,598 impatient with the paintbrush. 160 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:28,567 He doesn't wish to pick up the paintbrush 161 00:09:28,569 --> 00:09:31,803 because he's pursuing so many other ideas. 162 00:09:31,805 --> 00:09:34,339 NARRATOR: Ideas can be slow to fill the coffers, 163 00:09:34,341 --> 00:09:38,009 and for Leonardo, the paintbrush was a trusted source of revenue. 164 00:09:40,846 --> 00:09:44,816 Leonardo's usual patrons were princes and high-ranking clerics, 165 00:09:44,818 --> 00:09:46,685 people in the public eye. 166 00:09:46,687 --> 00:09:48,520 Now he was being asked to paint a portrait 167 00:09:48,522 --> 00:09:51,756 of a relative unknown-- a silk merchant's wife. 168 00:09:57,797 --> 00:09:59,798 Clues to the curious commission can be found 169 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:01,633 in the library of one of the most renowned 170 00:10:01,635 --> 00:10:05,437 art collections in the world-- the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. 171 00:10:08,741 --> 00:10:10,642 The library holds the first edition 172 00:10:10,644 --> 00:10:13,912 of a seminal work on art from the Italian Renaissance-- 173 00:10:13,914 --> 00:10:16,481 "Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, 174 00:10:16,483 --> 00:10:20,685 Sculptors, and Architects," by Giorgio Vasari. 175 00:10:20,687 --> 00:10:23,188 Published in 1550, it's considered 176 00:10:23,190 --> 00:10:26,992 the preeminent source of information on Renaissance art. 177 00:10:26,994 --> 00:10:30,261 Vasari wrote the manuscript after Leonardo's death, 178 00:10:30,263 --> 00:10:32,697 but with full access to the artist's records 179 00:10:32,699 --> 00:10:34,966 and eyewitnesses. 180 00:10:34,968 --> 00:10:38,903 Vasari writes of a silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo, 181 00:10:38,905 --> 00:10:41,206 whose sons confirmed that Leonardo da Vinci 182 00:10:41,208 --> 00:10:44,709 painted a portrait of their mother. 183 00:10:44,711 --> 00:10:48,079 Her name--Lisa. Mona Lisa. 184 00:10:48,081 --> 00:10:50,715 "Mona" is an archaic Italian word for "lady." 185 00:10:53,653 --> 00:10:56,755 The author described the portrait in great detail. 186 00:10:56,757 --> 00:11:00,692 The lashes demand the greatest delicacy of execution. 187 00:11:00,694 --> 00:11:03,161 The eyebrows could not be more natural. 188 00:11:05,831 --> 00:11:10,368 The mouth seemed in truth to be not colors, but flesh. 189 00:11:10,370 --> 00:11:13,271 [Vezzosi speaking Italian] TRANSLATOR: In his description, 190 00:11:13,273 --> 00:11:16,841 the eyelashes are mentioned as an important characteristic. 191 00:11:19,979 --> 00:11:22,647 He marks them out as an extraordinary feature 192 00:11:22,649 --> 00:11:23,715 of the painting. 193 00:11:30,723 --> 00:11:32,991 NARRATOR: But is Vasari describing the picture 194 00:11:32,993 --> 00:11:35,727 now hanging in the Louvre behind bulletproof glass? 195 00:11:47,773 --> 00:11:49,974 In this portrait, there is no trace 196 00:11:49,976 --> 00:11:51,943 of the eyelashes, lips, and eyebrows 197 00:11:51,945 --> 00:11:54,913 that so delighted the Renaissance writer. 198 00:11:54,915 --> 00:11:57,182 [Vezzosi speaking Italian] 199 00:11:57,184 --> 00:11:59,250 TRANSLATOR: If we look at the "Mona Lisa" in the Louvre, 200 00:11:59,252 --> 00:12:02,921 we can see that these eyelashes do not exist. 201 00:12:02,923 --> 00:12:06,091 This raises doubts if Vasari was familiar with the painting 202 00:12:06,093 --> 00:12:08,560 in the Louvre or if there could be 203 00:12:08,562 --> 00:12:10,095 two different works. 204 00:12:15,668 --> 00:12:17,435 NARRATOR: If Vasari was describing 205 00:12:17,437 --> 00:12:19,471 the painting in the Louvre, 206 00:12:19,473 --> 00:12:21,406 where are the lashes and brows? 207 00:12:27,747 --> 00:12:31,216 New photo technology can peel back the layers of history 208 00:12:31,218 --> 00:12:33,051 hidden behind coats of paint. 209 00:12:36,856 --> 00:12:38,490 French technician Pascal Cotte 210 00:12:38,492 --> 00:12:40,792 uses cutting-edge cameras to try to solve 211 00:12:40,794 --> 00:12:42,560 the mystery of the missing eyebrows. 212 00:12:45,865 --> 00:12:48,900 A high-resolution sensor records a series of images 213 00:12:48,902 --> 00:12:50,702 at different wavelengths of light. 214 00:12:53,072 --> 00:12:56,841 COTTE: I found the eyebrows with only 3 filters 215 00:12:56,843 --> 00:12:58,810 and only in the visible range. 216 00:12:58,812 --> 00:13:01,846 We don't need the infrared range to find it, 217 00:13:01,848 --> 00:13:03,848 because this is very thin 218 00:13:03,850 --> 00:13:07,919 and this is very close to the surface of the painting. 219 00:13:07,921 --> 00:13:10,522 There is no clear scientific answer 220 00:13:10,524 --> 00:13:14,726 how the eyebrows disappeared. 221 00:13:14,728 --> 00:13:20,999 We can only make the supposition that someone 222 00:13:21,001 --> 00:13:24,169 cleaning the varnish on top of "Mona Lisa" 223 00:13:24,171 --> 00:13:26,838 removed the eyebrows because the eyebrows 224 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,207 were painted inside the varnish. 225 00:13:30,776 --> 00:13:33,778 NARRATOR: What little remains doesn't seem to justify 226 00:13:33,780 --> 00:13:35,814 Vasari's effusive account. 227 00:13:35,816 --> 00:13:37,949 It could be he had seen a different version 228 00:13:37,951 --> 00:13:38,950 of the "Mona Lisa." 229 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,321 Many legendary paintings have been transformed 230 00:13:43,323 --> 00:13:46,191 through a murky history of repairs and restoration. 231 00:13:48,794 --> 00:13:52,430 I found myself going to many museums and studying, 232 00:13:52,432 --> 00:13:56,634 obviously, hundreds of works of art in museums environment, 233 00:13:56,636 --> 00:13:59,971 and the visitors don't realize 234 00:13:59,973 --> 00:14:02,974 that most of the times, they are looking at a surface 235 00:14:02,976 --> 00:14:05,877 that is far from being the original one. 236 00:14:05,879 --> 00:14:09,180 The original one meaning how much has changed, 237 00:14:09,182 --> 00:14:11,516 how much material has been added, 238 00:14:11,518 --> 00:14:13,418 how much has decayed, 239 00:14:13,420 --> 00:14:15,220 and how much is what you see 240 00:14:15,222 --> 00:14:18,456 is the result of several restorations 241 00:14:18,458 --> 00:14:21,593 as well as several cleaning jobs. 242 00:14:21,595 --> 00:14:23,595 NARRATOR: The restorer Ernst Lux 243 00:14:23,597 --> 00:14:26,130 has saved many masterpieces from decay. 244 00:14:26,132 --> 00:14:29,300 He knows how the preservation techniques of past centuries 245 00:14:29,302 --> 00:14:31,236 could damage a work of art. 246 00:14:31,238 --> 00:14:33,738 LUX: You have to imagine in those times 247 00:14:33,740 --> 00:14:36,007 how cleanings had been done. 248 00:14:36,009 --> 00:14:39,611 There was a mixture normally of turpentine, alcohol, 249 00:14:39,613 --> 00:14:41,112 and ammonia. 250 00:14:41,114 --> 00:14:43,882 Maybe added some lavender oil 251 00:14:43,884 --> 00:14:46,784 or whatever, or half onions, 252 00:14:46,786 --> 00:14:49,754 and all these substances have one thing in common-- 253 00:14:49,756 --> 00:14:51,055 they are extremely aggressive. 254 00:14:52,825 --> 00:14:54,192 NARRATOR: So, this could still be 255 00:14:54,194 --> 00:14:56,394 the "Mona Lisa" Vasari described-- 256 00:14:56,396 --> 00:14:58,796 the fine lashes and eyebrows scrubbed away 257 00:14:58,798 --> 00:15:00,899 by centuries of harsh restoration. 258 00:15:03,869 --> 00:15:05,637 But Vasari's account emphasizes 259 00:15:05,639 --> 00:15:07,472 another quality of the portrait-- 260 00:15:07,474 --> 00:15:10,708 one that sets it apart from the "Mona Lisa" in the Louvre. 261 00:15:13,746 --> 00:15:15,213 It was unfinished. 262 00:15:19,718 --> 00:15:23,021 Is it possible he was describing the Isleworth "Mona Lisa," 263 00:15:23,023 --> 00:15:25,223 the version Hugh Blaker bought in England? 264 00:15:33,732 --> 00:15:35,767 Today, the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" 265 00:15:35,769 --> 00:15:38,703 is kept in a secret location in Switzerland, 266 00:15:38,705 --> 00:15:40,972 locked away in an armored safe. 267 00:15:40,974 --> 00:15:42,540 [Beeping] 268 00:15:45,844 --> 00:15:47,445 The portrait has changed hands 269 00:15:47,447 --> 00:15:49,647 several times since its discovery. 270 00:15:49,649 --> 00:15:52,150 In 2008, it was acquired by a group of 271 00:15:52,152 --> 00:15:53,551 international investors. 272 00:15:55,921 --> 00:15:57,322 The identity of the buyers 273 00:15:57,324 --> 00:15:59,023 and the price they paid for the painting 274 00:15:59,025 --> 00:16:00,992 is a closely guarded secret. 275 00:16:10,502 --> 00:16:13,905 Another feature aligns with Vasari's description-- 276 00:16:13,907 --> 00:16:15,940 the background remains unfinished. 277 00:16:18,644 --> 00:16:22,380 The landscape behind the figure is almost completely missing. 278 00:16:27,586 --> 00:16:30,822 Even unfinished, it could still be Leonardo's work. 279 00:16:30,824 --> 00:16:32,890 Its incomplete state would be typical 280 00:16:32,892 --> 00:16:35,093 of a busy artist of his caliber. 281 00:16:35,095 --> 00:16:40,365 Leonardo's restless mind, his restless interest 282 00:16:40,367 --> 00:16:44,836 in the world around him, in new trains of thought, 283 00:16:44,838 --> 00:16:48,906 new areas of study, new paintings to undertake 284 00:16:48,908 --> 00:16:53,745 seems to make him a man who is always discarding and abandoning 285 00:16:53,747 --> 00:17:00,184 and moving on from paintings and leaving them unfinished. 286 00:17:00,186 --> 00:17:04,622 NARRATOR: In 1503, Leonardo was awarded a major commission, 287 00:17:04,624 --> 00:17:07,258 the most prestigious assignment in Florence. 288 00:17:11,797 --> 00:17:15,199 That same year, he began work on the "Mona Lisa." 289 00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:19,637 Leonardo was chosen to commemorate 290 00:17:19,639 --> 00:17:22,974 a famous battle on the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio. 291 00:17:25,744 --> 00:17:28,346 The Battle of Anghiari was a decisive moment 292 00:17:28,348 --> 00:17:29,547 in the city's history. 293 00:17:32,785 --> 00:17:36,421 For the mural, he devised a new untested technique. 294 00:17:39,792 --> 00:17:42,493 But for once, his ingenuity backfired. 295 00:17:42,495 --> 00:17:45,696 The hot wax colors took too long to dry, 296 00:17:45,698 --> 00:17:49,000 failed to adhere, and began to drip down the walls. 297 00:17:51,703 --> 00:17:55,006 It was the most ambitious assignment Florence had to offer. 298 00:17:57,109 --> 00:17:58,843 And Leonardo had failed. 299 00:18:13,725 --> 00:18:16,727 Halfway through the job, he threw in the towel, 300 00:18:16,729 --> 00:18:19,130 leaving the unfinished fresco behind. 301 00:18:25,771 --> 00:18:28,673 There is nothing left of it today. 302 00:18:28,675 --> 00:18:31,909 It was not the first time he had abandoned a commission. 303 00:18:31,911 --> 00:18:35,146 Several of his most famous works remain incomplete. 304 00:18:36,582 --> 00:18:38,983 I think Leonardo was the sort of artist who, in a sense, 305 00:18:38,985 --> 00:18:40,685 never thought pictures were finished. 306 00:18:45,557 --> 00:18:48,292 He could always see additional possibilities. 307 00:18:48,294 --> 00:18:51,129 He could always see something that seemed to him a bit better, 308 00:18:51,131 --> 00:18:53,231 so, he never settled in that way. 309 00:18:55,767 --> 00:18:58,336 NARRATOR: It's possible Leonardo also lost interest 310 00:18:58,338 --> 00:19:02,573 halfway through painting Lisa, the wife of the silk merchant. 311 00:19:02,575 --> 00:19:03,508 [Horse nickers] 312 00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:06,878 Comparing the portraits, the two women 313 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:08,913 are clearly the same person, 314 00:19:08,915 --> 00:19:10,748 but in the unfinished version, 315 00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:12,550 she seems slightly younger. 316 00:19:32,838 --> 00:19:35,640 Could this be a clue as to when she was painted? 317 00:19:41,747 --> 00:19:44,415 Evidence regarding the timing recently came to light 318 00:19:44,417 --> 00:19:46,851 at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. 319 00:19:51,390 --> 00:19:53,824 Conservators at the library stumbled across 320 00:19:53,826 --> 00:19:57,728 a handwritten note in the margin of a 16th-century book. 321 00:19:57,730 --> 00:20:00,364 [Woman speaking German] TRANSLATOR: One early owner of this book 322 00:20:00,366 --> 00:20:02,366 was Agostino Vespucci. 323 00:20:02,368 --> 00:20:04,869 He was personally acquainted with Leonardo. 324 00:20:04,871 --> 00:20:08,406 We can assume that he had access to Leonardo's studio, 325 00:20:08,408 --> 00:20:11,375 that he'd seen his pictures, and after a visit, 326 00:20:11,377 --> 00:20:13,578 he made the handwritten note in his book. 327 00:20:19,184 --> 00:20:21,519 He writes that Leonardo usually completes 328 00:20:21,521 --> 00:20:23,187 the main parts of his subjects 329 00:20:23,189 --> 00:20:26,157 and often leaves the rest of the painting unfinished. 330 00:20:26,159 --> 00:20:28,793 He cites the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo 331 00:20:28,795 --> 00:20:32,296 as an example, and dates it October 1503. 332 00:20:34,733 --> 00:20:38,269 NARRATOR: In October 1503, the portrait had not been finished. 333 00:20:40,305 --> 00:20:41,606 [Man speaking Italian] 334 00:20:42,774 --> 00:20:44,942 NARRATOR: At that time, Lisa del Giocondo 335 00:20:44,944 --> 00:20:46,978 was a young woman of 24. 336 00:20:46,980 --> 00:20:49,547 Her husband hired Leonardo to paint her portrait 337 00:20:49,549 --> 00:20:52,550 while she was expecting their second child. 338 00:20:52,552 --> 00:20:53,684 [Speaking Italian] 339 00:21:07,299 --> 00:21:09,166 NARRATOR: Although she would one day be celebrated 340 00:21:09,168 --> 00:21:11,869 as Leonardo's most beguiling muse, 341 00:21:11,871 --> 00:21:14,005 it's likely she spent very little time 342 00:21:14,007 --> 00:21:15,339 with the master himself. 343 00:21:20,946 --> 00:21:23,414 KEMP: The artist would have made a sketch. 344 00:21:23,416 --> 00:21:27,018 They would have made a likeness of some sort. 345 00:21:27,020 --> 00:21:29,854 And that probably was about the end of it. 346 00:21:29,856 --> 00:21:31,722 The sitter wouldn't be there. 347 00:21:31,724 --> 00:21:35,326 This idea of the sitter who sits in a chair, 348 00:21:35,328 --> 00:21:37,862 the artist sits there, and you sit there 349 00:21:37,864 --> 00:21:41,999 while he spends ages and ages making the portrait, 350 00:21:42,001 --> 00:21:43,868 that wouldn't happen at all. 351 00:21:47,839 --> 00:21:49,840 NARRATOR: For Leonardo, the style of painting 352 00:21:49,842 --> 00:21:53,244 is a departure from the grand scale of his usual work-- 353 00:21:53,246 --> 00:21:57,148 imperious political portraits and somber religious scenes. 354 00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:06,357 KEMP: She's a bourgeois Florentine lady. 355 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:08,592 and this is an intimate portrait. 356 00:22:08,594 --> 00:22:11,629 It's not a great public portrait. 357 00:22:11,631 --> 00:22:15,433 This woman smiling, looking at you, it's very intimate. 358 00:22:17,903 --> 00:22:22,606 NICHOLL: We see a face which is just about to smile, 359 00:22:22,608 --> 00:22:26,444 and so the painting contains the future moment 360 00:22:26,446 --> 00:22:30,247 in which Lisa del Giocondo will break into that smile. 361 00:22:31,416 --> 00:22:32,783 But she hasn't done quite yet. 362 00:22:37,522 --> 00:22:39,757 Mona Lisa herself is a young woman 363 00:22:39,759 --> 00:22:42,193 just on the brink of changing, 364 00:22:42,195 --> 00:22:44,662 because she's now a mother, she's fleshing out, 365 00:22:44,664 --> 00:22:46,964 she's a beautiful, young woman 366 00:22:46,966 --> 00:22:50,868 who is going through physical and personal changes, 367 00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:53,704 because she is now a young mother, a young wife. 368 00:22:53,706 --> 00:22:55,906 NARRATOR: A portrait by Leonardo would surely have been 369 00:22:55,908 --> 00:22:57,708 a major expense for the family, 370 00:22:57,710 --> 00:22:59,877 but no record of the commission exists. 371 00:23:01,713 --> 00:23:04,348 The question of why continues to puzzle 372 00:23:04,350 --> 00:23:06,450 historians like Giuseppe Pallanti. 373 00:23:08,887 --> 00:23:11,188 [Pallanti speaking Italian] 374 00:23:11,190 --> 00:23:12,890 TRANSLATOR: I've conducted extensive research 375 00:23:12,892 --> 00:23:14,759 in the archives in Florence, including 376 00:23:14,761 --> 00:23:16,360 the Archivio degli Innocenti. 377 00:23:19,131 --> 00:23:21,565 But I have found no documentary evidence 378 00:23:21,567 --> 00:23:24,168 of a contract between Francesco del Giocondo 379 00:23:24,170 --> 00:23:26,203 and Leonardo. 380 00:23:26,205 --> 00:23:28,572 NARRATOR: Florence's tax system required citizens 381 00:23:28,574 --> 00:23:32,443 to submit detailed records of all income and expenses. 382 00:23:32,445 --> 00:23:34,245 Financial transactions and assets 383 00:23:34,247 --> 00:23:36,180 were meticulously archived, 384 00:23:36,182 --> 00:23:38,249 a rich resource for historians. 385 00:23:40,419 --> 00:23:42,353 [Pallanti speaking Italian] 386 00:23:43,555 --> 00:23:45,489 TRANSLATOR: The document that all art historians 387 00:23:45,491 --> 00:23:47,024 have been looking for would prove 388 00:23:47,026 --> 00:23:49,393 that the portrait had been paid for, 389 00:23:49,395 --> 00:23:52,229 but unfortunately there is not a single piece of evidence 390 00:23:52,231 --> 00:23:54,732 to suggest that Francesco del Giocondo 391 00:23:54,734 --> 00:23:56,700 made any payment to Leonardo. 392 00:24:00,772 --> 00:24:03,474 NARRATOR: From 1503 to 1506, 393 00:24:03,476 --> 00:24:05,342 when Leonardo lived in Florence, 394 00:24:05,344 --> 00:24:07,745 there is no record of the Giocondo family 395 00:24:07,747 --> 00:24:10,247 spending any money at all on a painting. 396 00:24:10,249 --> 00:24:13,851 Perhaps they never received the finished portrait. 397 00:24:13,853 --> 00:24:17,888 [Speaking Italian] TRANSLATOR: Why had Leonardo not delivered the painting? 398 00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:20,124 There is no logical explanation. 399 00:24:20,126 --> 00:24:22,760 It was in Leonardo's interest to hand over the painting 400 00:24:22,762 --> 00:24:23,961 and receive his fee, 401 00:24:23,963 --> 00:24:26,464 and Francesco would also have had an interest 402 00:24:26,466 --> 00:24:28,899 in owning a picture painted by the most famous 403 00:24:28,901 --> 00:24:29,867 painter of the age. 404 00:24:34,039 --> 00:24:36,207 There is no rational reason why Leonardo 405 00:24:36,209 --> 00:24:38,976 should have painted the picture and then kept it for himself. 406 00:24:41,546 --> 00:24:44,114 NARRATOR: It could be that the portrait wasn't finished 407 00:24:44,116 --> 00:24:46,383 and Leonardo never collected on his fee. 408 00:24:48,753 --> 00:24:51,455 But then, what did he do with the painting? 409 00:24:51,457 --> 00:24:53,824 If he kept it for himself, it must have stayed with him 410 00:24:53,826 --> 00:24:56,494 for a very long time, 411 00:24:56,496 --> 00:24:58,496 possibly for the rest of his life. 412 00:25:02,767 --> 00:25:05,402 Leonardo spent his final years in France 413 00:25:05,404 --> 00:25:07,872 at the invitation of King Francis I. 414 00:25:13,845 --> 00:25:18,015 He lived in a small chateau in the Loire Valley until 1517, 415 00:25:18,017 --> 00:25:20,451 when he died and was buried in the local chapel. 416 00:25:24,823 --> 00:25:26,757 [Hoofbeats on road] 417 00:25:32,697 --> 00:25:35,900 Two years before his death, an important guest 418 00:25:35,902 --> 00:25:37,735 would leave a tantalizing clue. 419 00:25:40,705 --> 00:25:43,908 [Horse whinnies, nickers] 420 00:25:43,910 --> 00:25:48,779 The visitor's name-- Cardinal Luigi d'Aragona. 421 00:25:48,781 --> 00:25:53,884 He arrived with his private secretary--Antonio de Beatis. 422 00:25:53,886 --> 00:25:56,053 De Beatis recounted the cardinal's visit 423 00:25:56,055 --> 00:25:57,421 in a detailed diary. 424 00:26:03,628 --> 00:26:05,796 The aging Leonardo showed the cardinal 425 00:26:05,798 --> 00:26:06,964 several of his works. 426 00:26:06,966 --> 00:26:09,099 [Men speaking Italian] 427 00:26:12,704 --> 00:26:14,305 NARRATOR: "St. John the Baptist," 428 00:26:14,307 --> 00:26:16,640 "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne"... 429 00:26:19,778 --> 00:26:21,979 and a portrait de Beatis describes 430 00:26:21,981 --> 00:26:24,848 as a certain Florentine woman done from life. 431 00:26:26,785 --> 00:26:31,622 Nearly 400 years later, in 1905, the diaries were published. 432 00:26:37,696 --> 00:26:40,030 They set off a storm of speculation 433 00:26:40,032 --> 00:26:42,032 about Leonardo's most famous work. 434 00:26:52,711 --> 00:26:54,645 The diaries state that the "Mona Lisa" 435 00:26:54,647 --> 00:26:57,214 was commissioned by the late Giuliano de' Medici. 436 00:27:00,752 --> 00:27:03,587 This contradicts accounts that Leonardo had been hired 437 00:27:03,589 --> 00:27:06,156 by Lisa's husband, the silk merchant 438 00:27:06,158 --> 00:27:08,726 Francesco del Giocondo. 439 00:27:08,728 --> 00:27:10,661 [Speaking Italian] 440 00:27:12,931 --> 00:27:16,033 TRANSLATOR: The two documents by Vasari and de Beatis 441 00:27:16,035 --> 00:27:19,370 differ with regard to the dates and the context. 442 00:27:19,372 --> 00:27:22,206 They provide no clear answer. 443 00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:25,242 But it is clear that Francesco del Giocondo 444 00:27:25,244 --> 00:27:28,545 and Giuliano de' Medici cannot both be the client. 445 00:27:33,918 --> 00:27:38,122 This supports the theory of two different portraits. 446 00:27:38,124 --> 00:27:40,457 NARRATOR: For both accounts to be accurate, 447 00:27:40,459 --> 00:27:43,293 there would have to be two versions of the portrait: 448 00:27:43,295 --> 00:27:46,797 the finished masterpiece painted for Giuliano de' Medici 449 00:27:46,799 --> 00:27:50,901 and an unfinished version commissioned by Lisa's husband. 450 00:27:52,504 --> 00:27:56,006 The tale of two "Mona Lisas" quickly spread throughout the art world, 451 00:27:56,008 --> 00:27:58,342 to people like dealer Hugh Blaker, 452 00:27:58,344 --> 00:28:01,111 o just a few years later claimed to have discovered 453 00:28:01,113 --> 00:28:04,048 his Isleworth "Mona Lisa." 454 00:28:05,617 --> 00:28:09,119 Had he perhaps not discovered it at all? 455 00:28:09,121 --> 00:28:11,622 Could he have painted it himself 456 00:28:11,624 --> 00:28:13,957 or commissioned a talented forger 457 00:28:13,959 --> 00:28:16,894 to re-create the unfinished portrait? 458 00:28:18,863 --> 00:28:22,900 KEMP: Leonardo is probably the most copied artist of his generation, 459 00:28:22,902 --> 00:28:24,902 and it goes through the 16th century. 460 00:28:24,904 --> 00:28:27,905 They keep making versions and copies and so on 461 00:28:27,907 --> 00:28:29,907 and it clearly was a famous look. 462 00:28:29,909 --> 00:28:34,411 You know, people liked pictures that said Leonardo to them. 463 00:28:34,413 --> 00:28:37,915 NARRATOR: Hundreds of copies of the "Mona Lisa" circulate throughout the world 464 00:28:37,917 --> 00:28:41,351 from different periods and of varying quality. 465 00:28:43,321 --> 00:28:47,357 It's possible the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" is one of them. 466 00:28:50,428 --> 00:28:55,232 As a forgery, its genius would lie in its obvious departures from the version in the Louvre. 467 00:28:55,234 --> 00:28:58,235 No one would suspect it was an attempted copy. 468 00:28:58,237 --> 00:29:02,673 It would be seen as an additional "Mona Lisa"... 469 00:29:02,675 --> 00:29:05,409 one that had never been finished, 470 00:29:05,411 --> 00:29:09,246 as the Renaissance writer Vasari described. 471 00:29:09,248 --> 00:29:12,282 The timing of her discovery is also dubious. 472 00:29:12,284 --> 00:29:14,451 The Isleworth "Mona Lisa" appeared 473 00:29:14,453 --> 00:29:16,954 just after the original was looted from the Louvre, 474 00:29:16,956 --> 00:29:20,724 a time when a forger could be tempted to cash in on her absence. 475 00:29:20,726 --> 00:29:25,229 So is the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" simply a fake? 476 00:29:25,231 --> 00:29:30,234 LUX: When I make an examination of a painting after the first view of the main side, 477 00:29:30,236 --> 00:29:32,736 I just turn it over and look at the back side 478 00:29:32,738 --> 00:29:36,073 because I can see a lot of information of the history 479 00:29:36,075 --> 00:29:38,408 of this painting on the back side, also. 480 00:29:38,410 --> 00:29:40,911 You have all the dirt of the centuries. 481 00:29:40,913 --> 00:29:44,081 You have the inscriptions. You have collector numbers. 482 00:29:44,083 --> 00:29:47,918 You have, maybe, scenes, stamps, whatever. 483 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,921 So the back side is normally 484 00:29:50,923 --> 00:29:54,091 a much more unchanged part 485 00:29:54,093 --> 00:29:56,760 of the history of the painting than the front side. 486 00:29:56,762 --> 00:30:00,097 NARRATOR: The back of the Isleworth remains hidden from scrutiny. 487 00:30:00,099 --> 00:30:04,434 It was glued on top of a second canvas in the early 20th century. 488 00:30:04,436 --> 00:30:07,805 For Ernst Lux, this alone is suspicious. 489 00:30:07,807 --> 00:30:12,309 If you want to produce a forgery, this re-lining saves a lot of work 490 00:30:12,311 --> 00:30:16,013 because you don't have to imitate the back side of the painting 491 00:30:16,015 --> 00:30:18,949 with the dust, inscription, with the history. 492 00:30:18,951 --> 00:30:20,951 In many cases, 493 00:30:20,953 --> 00:30:24,955 the faking of the back side is much more difficult 494 00:30:24,957 --> 00:30:27,624 than to fake the front side of the painting. 495 00:30:29,527 --> 00:30:34,464 NARRATOR: Perhaps a brilliant counterfeiter had thought of nearly everything... 496 00:30:37,535 --> 00:30:41,471 but he could never have anticipated the technology to come. 497 00:30:43,041 --> 00:30:47,044 At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, 498 00:30:47,046 --> 00:30:51,481 experts used carbon-14 dating to authenticate ancient objects. 499 00:30:59,991 --> 00:31:03,493 Since canvas is woven from plant fibers, 500 00:31:03,495 --> 00:31:06,930 a painting makes a perfect subject for the test. 501 00:31:12,403 --> 00:31:16,240 The challenge lies in sampling only the painting itself, 502 00:31:16,242 --> 00:31:18,375 not an easy task when the canvas has been 503 00:31:18,377 --> 00:31:21,311 re-lined and glued to a second layer. 504 00:31:23,882 --> 00:31:26,049 MAN: We need to take this sample 505 00:31:26,051 --> 00:31:30,220 only from the original canvas, which gives the right age. 506 00:31:30,222 --> 00:31:33,390 If we mix it with the glue of the other canvas, 507 00:31:33,392 --> 00:31:37,060 we get wrong results, and it's very difficult 508 00:31:37,062 --> 00:31:40,230 to purify this material so that we extract 509 00:31:40,232 --> 00:31:42,766 and insulate the original fibers. 510 00:31:42,768 --> 00:31:44,768 NARRATOR: Aside from being unfinished, 511 00:31:44,770 --> 00:31:47,271 the background of the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" features 512 00:31:47,273 --> 00:31:50,274 another key difference from her counterpart. 513 00:31:50,276 --> 00:31:53,777 In the Isleworth, she is flanked by two pillars, 514 00:31:53,779 --> 00:31:55,779 while in the Louvre "Mona Lisa," 515 00:31:55,781 --> 00:31:59,783 the bases of the columns can just barely be seen. 516 00:31:59,785 --> 00:32:03,787 Why would a counterfeiter have added these columns? 517 00:32:03,789 --> 00:32:06,290 Art historians had long assumed 518 00:32:06,292 --> 00:32:08,959 that the "Mona Lisa" in the Louvre had been trimmed, 519 00:32:08,961 --> 00:32:11,461 10 centimeters off of each side. 520 00:32:11,463 --> 00:32:15,899 If this were true, the columns would have once been visible. 521 00:32:17,468 --> 00:32:21,371 The theory seems to have been supported by an illustrious witness, 522 00:32:21,373 --> 00:32:24,308 the Renaissance painter Raphael. 523 00:32:27,211 --> 00:32:31,214 Around 1504, the young talent had just moved to Florence 524 00:32:31,216 --> 00:32:35,218 and is said to have paid a visit to Leonardo's studio. 525 00:32:35,220 --> 00:32:37,888 It was probably during the visit that he drew 526 00:32:37,890 --> 00:32:42,392 a highly informative sketch of one of Leonardo's works. 527 00:32:42,394 --> 00:32:45,562 KEMP: There is a very nice pen-and-ink drawing of a woman 528 00:32:45,564 --> 00:32:49,566 sitting at--with a balcony with columns down the side, 529 00:32:49,568 --> 00:32:53,236 which clearly is a kind of revision 530 00:32:53,238 --> 00:32:56,073 of the "Mona Lisa" on his own behalf. 531 00:32:56,075 --> 00:33:00,510 NARRATOR: What the drawing doesn't reveal is whether the painting was finished. 532 00:33:00,512 --> 00:33:03,080 KEMP: So there was obviously enough to see 533 00:33:03,082 --> 00:33:05,415 that the basic composition was there: the figure, 534 00:33:05,417 --> 00:33:08,485 the pose, even the columns and so on. 535 00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:10,988 They were certainly known in Florence, 536 00:33:10,990 --> 00:33:14,491 and Raphael would have known that before 1507, 1508 537 00:33:14,493 --> 00:33:17,160 when he left Florence. 538 00:33:17,162 --> 00:33:22,099 NARRATOR: Which painting, which columns had Raphael seen? 539 00:33:23,668 --> 00:33:26,670 The mystery persisted until 2004, 540 00:33:26,672 --> 00:33:30,841 when restorers at the Louvre removed the frame from the "Mona Lisa" 541 00:33:30,843 --> 00:33:34,344 and discovered the painting had never been trimmed. 542 00:33:34,346 --> 00:33:37,514 There were never any columns in the portrait. 543 00:33:37,516 --> 00:33:40,350 The revelation means any version of the "Mona Lisa" 544 00:33:40,352 --> 00:33:43,420 with visible columns is most likely a fake, 545 00:33:43,422 --> 00:33:45,789 based on a false idea. 546 00:33:47,358 --> 00:33:49,860 But what of Raphael's drawing? 547 00:33:51,429 --> 00:33:54,931 A comparison of his sketch with the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" 548 00:33:54,933 --> 00:33:58,435 reveals that the columns are strikingly similar. 549 00:33:58,437 --> 00:34:03,440 Does this mean Raphael had seen the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo's studio, 550 00:34:03,442 --> 00:34:07,444 making it an early version of the famous portrait? 551 00:34:07,446 --> 00:34:11,448 Or is it a later forgery, based on the now-debunked myth 552 00:34:11,450 --> 00:34:15,385 that at some stage the columns had been cut off? 553 00:34:18,623 --> 00:34:22,626 Determining when she was painted proves more challenging than expected. 554 00:34:22,628 --> 00:34:27,130 Her exact age eludes even the experts in Zurich. 555 00:34:27,132 --> 00:34:30,133 SYNAL: In general, the time range between the end 556 00:34:30,135 --> 00:34:33,136 of the 15th century and the middle of the 17th century 557 00:34:33,138 --> 00:34:37,140 is a little bit difficult because the C-14 concentration 558 00:34:37,142 --> 00:34:39,643 in the atmosphere has changed a lot, 559 00:34:39,645 --> 00:34:43,647 and this makes it very difficult to get precise dates 560 00:34:43,649 --> 00:34:45,649 during this time range. 561 00:34:45,651 --> 00:34:47,984 NARRATOR: The analysis reveals 562 00:34:47,986 --> 00:34:50,153 that the canvas of the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" 563 00:34:50,155 --> 00:34:51,822 was probably manufactured 564 00:34:51,824 --> 00:34:54,758 between 1500 and 1650. 565 00:34:56,828 --> 00:35:00,697 It could have been made during Leonardo's lifetime. 566 00:35:00,699 --> 00:35:02,699 The results which we have now 567 00:35:02,701 --> 00:35:06,036 fit the characteristics of a canvas originating 568 00:35:06,038 --> 00:35:08,205 from the end of the 15th century 569 00:35:08,207 --> 00:35:10,640 or the beginning of the 16th century. 570 00:35:17,148 --> 00:35:19,583 [Donkey breathing heavily] 571 00:35:21,986 --> 00:35:24,654 NARRATOR: The canvas fits the timeline, 572 00:35:24,656 --> 00:35:28,091 but did Leonardo's hand apply the paint? 573 00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:33,830 NICHOLL: Beneath him, there is a hierarchy of assistants, 574 00:35:33,832 --> 00:35:39,169 pupils, and junior garzone, as they are called-- 575 00:35:39,171 --> 00:35:42,672 lads who are helping-- and each has their part. 576 00:35:42,674 --> 00:35:47,177 NARRATOR: Leonardo's assistants were often skilled artists themselves. 577 00:35:47,179 --> 00:35:51,181 He devised the concepts and rendered the main features of the painting, 578 00:35:51,183 --> 00:35:54,017 but for the background and tiresome details, 579 00:35:54,019 --> 00:35:57,454 he was happy to pass the paintbrush to an apprentice. 580 00:35:59,023 --> 00:36:02,526 SERACINI: Obviously the style, the idea, 581 00:36:02,528 --> 00:36:05,228 the creativity of the subject, 582 00:36:05,230 --> 00:36:09,733 we tend to believe that was the main work of the master. 583 00:36:09,735 --> 00:36:12,235 But the execution, per se, 584 00:36:12,237 --> 00:36:16,239 to think that only the master would paint, 585 00:36:16,241 --> 00:36:18,175 that's an illusion. 586 00:36:21,245 --> 00:36:25,749 NARRATOR: The production of art in the Renaissance was based on division of labor. 587 00:36:25,751 --> 00:36:27,918 A flourishing studio like Leonardo's 588 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,354 would otherwise be unable to keep up with demand. 589 00:36:35,426 --> 00:36:40,363 This also freed up time for Leonardo to get creative in other ways. 590 00:36:42,433 --> 00:36:45,168 NICHOLL: The "Mona Lisa" certainly bears witness, 591 00:36:45,170 --> 00:36:47,837 or contains the evidence of, 592 00:36:47,839 --> 00:36:52,175 Leonardo's experimentation with different techniques 593 00:36:52,177 --> 00:36:55,345 and with different actual physical paint 594 00:36:55,347 --> 00:36:57,847 and varnish and glazes 595 00:36:57,849 --> 00:37:00,684 as the years went by. 596 00:37:00,686 --> 00:37:05,689 Of course, painters had their own recipes for making paint. 597 00:37:05,691 --> 00:37:08,191 It wasn't just a question of going down to the shop 598 00:37:08,193 --> 00:37:12,529 and buying a series of bottles or tins of paint. 599 00:37:12,531 --> 00:37:16,533 You mixed your own paints, using particular pigments, 600 00:37:16,535 --> 00:37:20,036 using particular bases, using particular mixes 601 00:37:20,038 --> 00:37:23,974 of oil and varnish and types of oil. 602 00:37:26,544 --> 00:37:30,981 NARRATOR: Today, this artistic alchemy can reveal the signature of a painter. 603 00:37:33,217 --> 00:37:38,221 To find it, researchers take microscopic samples of the pigment. 604 00:37:38,223 --> 00:37:43,360 Will paint from the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" expose her creator as a fraud? 605 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:50,934 The samples are cast in resin and examined under a microscope, 606 00:37:50,936 --> 00:37:53,603 revealing the structure of the painting, 607 00:37:53,605 --> 00:37:56,539 how the pigments were mixed and layered. 608 00:37:58,609 --> 00:38:01,611 The key is to determine whether the paint's recipe 609 00:38:01,613 --> 00:38:05,615 is consistent with mixtures used during Leonardo's day. 610 00:38:05,617 --> 00:38:07,784 Any pigments invented after his death 611 00:38:07,786 --> 00:38:10,720 would expose the portrait as a fake. 612 00:38:12,456 --> 00:38:16,793 The tests reveal that no modern materials were used in the Isleworth. 613 00:38:16,795 --> 00:38:20,630 It seems to have been created while Leonardo was alive. 614 00:38:20,632 --> 00:38:24,067 PASCAL COTTE: 615 00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:39,316 NARRATOR: But was the portrait painted by the master himself, 616 00:38:39,318 --> 00:38:43,486 or if not by Leonardo, by someone very close to him? 617 00:38:43,488 --> 00:38:47,991 One of his students nicknamed Salaí was more than just a pupil. 618 00:38:47,993 --> 00:38:52,495 NICHOLL: Salaí was also, according to contemporary evidence, 619 00:38:52,497 --> 00:38:57,667 and certainly according to our own suppositions now, 620 00:38:57,669 --> 00:38:59,669 Leonardo's lover, 621 00:38:59,671 --> 00:39:02,672 Leonardo's confidant, friend, 622 00:39:02,674 --> 00:39:06,176 right-hand man, and bedmate. 623 00:39:06,178 --> 00:39:09,179 Vasari says it in a rather roundabout way, 624 00:39:09,181 --> 00:39:13,850 but makes it pretty clear that Leonardo loves Salaí. 625 00:39:15,252 --> 00:39:17,754 NARRATOR: It's possible that Leonardo's young lover, 626 00:39:17,756 --> 00:39:20,757 himself a talented artist, began a copy 627 00:39:20,759 --> 00:39:23,693 of his mentor's "Mona Lisa." 628 00:39:25,262 --> 00:39:28,264 NICHOLL: So, to say there are two--or more than two; 629 00:39:28,266 --> 00:39:32,268 there are several versions of the "Mona Lisa"-- 630 00:39:32,270 --> 00:39:36,106 is not the same as saying Leonardo himself 631 00:39:36,108 --> 00:39:39,275 painted two entirely separate paintings-- 632 00:39:39,277 --> 00:39:42,712 one in 1503, the other much later. 633 00:39:44,281 --> 00:39:47,784 My own view is that the other "Mona Lisas"-- 634 00:39:47,786 --> 00:39:51,788 that is to say, the ones that aren't the one sitting in the Louvre-- 635 00:39:51,790 --> 00:39:54,824 are studio productions. 636 00:39:54,826 --> 00:39:58,895 NARRATOR: If Salaí copied the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo's studio, 637 00:39:58,897 --> 00:40:02,332 it's possible he wasn't the only one. 638 00:40:05,770 --> 00:40:10,106 At the Prado Museum in Madrid, another copy was recently found 639 00:40:10,108 --> 00:40:13,610 to show corrections to the head, shoulder, and fingers-- 640 00:40:13,612 --> 00:40:18,114 identical to corrections found on the version in the Louvre. 641 00:40:18,116 --> 00:40:20,617 Someone had altered the copy 642 00:40:20,619 --> 00:40:23,553 at the same time as the original. 643 00:40:26,624 --> 00:40:31,461 KEMP: The making of copies in studios or versions of pictures was very common. 644 00:40:31,463 --> 00:40:34,130 If you look at the great artists of the time, 645 00:40:34,132 --> 00:40:37,634 most of them would have studios and smaller-scale pictures. 646 00:40:37,636 --> 00:40:41,137 Things like Madonnas would be produced in some numbers, 647 00:40:41,139 --> 00:40:43,473 and the pupils would assist in that, 648 00:40:43,475 --> 00:40:46,476 and Leonardo wasn't different in that respect. 649 00:40:46,478 --> 00:40:51,414 It was clearly a way of producing small-scale, Leonardo-brand pictures. 650 00:40:55,986 --> 00:41:00,490 Leonardo himself also says you should have 3 types of picture. 651 00:41:00,492 --> 00:41:02,659 You should have the top-quality ones, 652 00:41:02,661 --> 00:41:05,662 which we may think of as the "Mona Lisa," for instance; 653 00:41:05,664 --> 00:41:09,732 you would have the middle-quality ones, perhaps the "Madonna of the Yarnwinder," 654 00:41:09,734 --> 00:41:13,236 a small-scale Madonna produced by Leonardo in studio; 655 00:41:13,238 --> 00:41:17,574 and then you had other ones which were kind of OK, 656 00:41:17,576 --> 00:41:19,909 but these basically are studio products, 657 00:41:19,911 --> 00:41:25,415 so there's good evidence to think that Leonardo had grades of pictures. 658 00:41:25,417 --> 00:41:28,084 NARRATOR: But is the evidence strong enough to say 659 00:41:28,086 --> 00:41:31,421 the Isleworth came from Leonardo's studio? 660 00:41:31,423 --> 00:41:33,857 The canvas is the right age, 661 00:41:33,859 --> 00:41:38,361 the pigments are typical of those used during Leonardo's life, 662 00:41:38,363 --> 00:41:42,131 but one major difference calls the Isleworth into question. 663 00:41:42,133 --> 00:41:44,634 All of Leonardo's known paintings-- 664 00:41:44,636 --> 00:41:47,470 "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne," 665 00:41:47,472 --> 00:41:50,006 "Saint John the Baptist," 666 00:41:50,008 --> 00:41:54,010 "The Virgin of the Rocks"-- they are all painted on wood, 667 00:41:54,012 --> 00:41:56,346 unlike the Isleworth. 668 00:41:56,348 --> 00:42:00,550 Why would he make a canvas version of a painting on wood? 669 00:42:02,119 --> 00:42:05,121 The Vatican Library holds a valuable collection 670 00:42:05,123 --> 00:42:09,125 of Leonardo's writing called the Codex Urbinas. 671 00:42:09,127 --> 00:42:11,628 In his "Treatise on Painting," 672 00:42:11,630 --> 00:42:13,963 Leonardo devotes an entire chapter 673 00:42:13,965 --> 00:42:16,866 to techniques for working with canvas. 674 00:42:16,868 --> 00:42:20,303 He clearly researched and possibly tried his hand 675 00:42:20,305 --> 00:42:22,472 at painting on canvas. 676 00:42:22,474 --> 00:42:25,141 Could the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" be the result 677 00:42:25,143 --> 00:42:27,377 of one of these experiments? 678 00:42:29,947 --> 00:42:33,449 An X-ray of the painting offers a clue. 679 00:42:33,451 --> 00:42:37,453 LUX: If you look at X-rays of paintings by Leonardo 680 00:42:37,455 --> 00:42:39,455 or his contemporaries, 681 00:42:39,457 --> 00:42:42,458 they all have a blurry appearance. 682 00:42:42,460 --> 00:42:46,462 This is caused by the lead white in the preparation layer, 683 00:42:46,464 --> 00:42:50,400 and this lead white blocks the X-rays. 684 00:42:55,973 --> 00:42:59,909 If you look at the X-ray of the Isleworth "Mona Lisa," 685 00:42:59,911 --> 00:43:02,912 you see a very clear image, 686 00:43:02,914 --> 00:43:05,415 and this shows that there is more or less 687 00:43:05,417 --> 00:43:08,585 no lead white in the preparation layer. 688 00:43:08,587 --> 00:43:11,588 Leonardo and his contemporaries 689 00:43:11,590 --> 00:43:16,092 more or less always used lead white in the preparation. 690 00:43:16,094 --> 00:43:19,596 NARRATOR: But perhaps not always. 691 00:43:19,598 --> 00:43:22,098 In his "Treatise," he describes in detail 692 00:43:22,100 --> 00:43:24,434 how to prepare a canvas for painting, 693 00:43:24,436 --> 00:43:27,537 but never mentions the use of lead white. 694 00:43:29,106 --> 00:43:31,441 The omission is peculiar, 695 00:43:31,443 --> 00:43:35,945 but perhaps not for a man always on the edge of innovation. 696 00:43:35,947 --> 00:43:38,114 KEMP: What scientific examination is telling us 697 00:43:38,116 --> 00:43:41,117 about Leonardo's technique is it's very variable. 698 00:43:41,119 --> 00:43:44,954 It's almost as if he tackles each picture on a new basis. 699 00:43:47,024 --> 00:43:49,025 NARRATOR: When painting on wood, 700 00:43:49,027 --> 00:43:51,527 a base layer of lead white brightens 701 00:43:51,529 --> 00:43:53,696 and enhances the colors. 702 00:43:53,698 --> 00:43:56,699 It's essential for achieving the 3-dimensional effect 703 00:43:56,701 --> 00:44:00,136 Leonardo realized with the "Mona Lisa." 704 00:44:00,138 --> 00:44:03,640 But his mastery of mixing and applying the colors 705 00:44:03,642 --> 00:44:06,576 was an art form in itself. 706 00:44:08,712 --> 00:44:11,381 KEMP: What we do see, though, is his ability 707 00:44:11,383 --> 00:44:15,885 to control oil glazes, these very thin layers of color, 708 00:44:15,887 --> 00:44:17,887 and to lay them on top of each other 709 00:44:17,889 --> 00:44:20,390 in a way which is not disastrous, 710 00:44:20,392 --> 00:44:23,393 because if you lay drying pigment on top 711 00:44:23,395 --> 00:44:27,897 of pigment that isn't dry, you get all sorts of trouble. 712 00:44:27,899 --> 00:44:31,668 NARRATOR: Leonardo's technique relied on perfect preparation. 713 00:44:34,238 --> 00:44:37,173 [Leonardo grumbling in Italian] 714 00:44:41,245 --> 00:44:46,015 NARRATOR: All pigments in his studio had to comply with his exacting standards. 715 00:44:48,085 --> 00:44:51,020 Not every color made the cut. 716 00:44:57,361 --> 00:45:00,863 Leonardo's distinct use of color could have left clues 717 00:45:00,865 --> 00:45:04,033 hidden in his work, an artistic signature 718 00:45:04,035 --> 00:45:07,470 that could accurately trace a painting to the master. 719 00:45:09,707 --> 00:45:13,042 One man is convinced he can find it. 720 00:45:13,044 --> 00:45:15,712 At the University of California in San Diego, 721 00:45:15,714 --> 00:45:18,881 research physicist John Asmus is one of the few people 722 00:45:18,883 --> 00:45:22,051 in the world to examine both "Mona Lisas." 723 00:45:22,053 --> 00:45:25,455 He believes he can identify the hand of a genius 724 00:45:25,457 --> 00:45:27,957 by comparing the statistical characteristics 725 00:45:27,959 --> 00:45:30,460 of color and brightness. 726 00:45:30,462 --> 00:45:33,963 ASMUS: When a forger does a copy 727 00:45:33,965 --> 00:45:36,132 or a copyist does a copy, 728 00:45:36,134 --> 00:45:39,469 something of that copyist's technique 729 00:45:39,471 --> 00:45:43,139 finds its way into the painting, and a casual observer says, 730 00:45:43,141 --> 00:45:45,141 "These two paintings are the same." 731 00:45:45,143 --> 00:45:47,143 But if you look at the statistics 732 00:45:47,145 --> 00:45:50,880 and the numerical variations on those statistics, 733 00:45:50,882 --> 00:45:53,716 you always find differences, 734 00:45:53,718 --> 00:45:56,719 so we digitized both of the "Mona Lisas" 735 00:45:56,721 --> 00:45:59,989 and we compared the statistics of the pixels-- 736 00:45:59,991 --> 00:46:04,327 their intensities, their standard deviation, their distributions-- 737 00:46:04,329 --> 00:46:08,498 and we thought that this would be a way of scientifically validating 738 00:46:08,500 --> 00:46:12,001 what connoisseurs see when they look at these two paintings. 739 00:46:12,003 --> 00:46:16,005 NARRATOR: Analyzing the scans pixel by pixel, 740 00:46:16,007 --> 00:46:19,509 Asmus compares the flow of light and color, 741 00:46:19,511 --> 00:46:22,512 right down to the individual brush stroke. 742 00:46:22,514 --> 00:46:25,481 Even he is stunned by the results. 743 00:46:27,050 --> 00:46:30,553 And we found that the histograms for the two "Mona Lisas" 744 00:46:30,555 --> 00:46:32,722 are virtually identical. 745 00:46:32,724 --> 00:46:37,660 You could switch them in front of me, and I couldn't tell which was which. 746 00:46:41,331 --> 00:46:44,333 If you look at the statistics of this, 747 00:46:44,335 --> 00:46:48,504 I would say that it's 99% certain 748 00:46:48,506 --> 00:46:51,741 that the two "Mona Lisas" were done by the same artist. 749 00:46:57,347 --> 00:46:59,515 NARRATOR: If the results are correct, 750 00:46:59,517 --> 00:47:03,953 why would Leonardo da Vinci have painted the same subject twice? 751 00:47:03,955 --> 00:47:06,956 The answer might be found in Rome, where, 752 00:47:06,958 --> 00:47:10,893 late in life, Leonardo perfected his technique. 753 00:47:12,930 --> 00:47:15,598 NICHOLL: We don't really fully know 754 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:18,601 what he was experimenting on 755 00:47:18,603 --> 00:47:21,604 in the Belvedere in Rome, 756 00:47:21,606 --> 00:47:25,441 but it seems to have been some idea of, as he put it 757 00:47:25,443 --> 00:47:28,311 in one note, "capturing sunlight," 758 00:47:28,313 --> 00:47:30,646 and has probably contributed much 759 00:47:30,648 --> 00:47:34,984 to his rather dubious reputation in Rome 760 00:47:34,986 --> 00:47:37,320 as something approaching 761 00:47:37,322 --> 00:47:39,989 a sort of magician or a shaman. 762 00:47:49,333 --> 00:47:52,501 NARRATOR: Many experts believe Leonardo's superb handling 763 00:47:52,503 --> 00:47:56,339 of light, color, and shadow reached the peak of perfection 764 00:47:56,341 --> 00:48:00,509 in his final work, a picture of Saint John the Baptist. 765 00:48:02,079 --> 00:48:06,082 It was most likely commissioned by Pope Leo X. 766 00:48:06,084 --> 00:48:09,085 Leonardo's companion Salaí is thought to have served 767 00:48:09,087 --> 00:48:11,621 as the model for the saint. 768 00:48:11,623 --> 00:48:16,125 Today, the picture hangs in the Louvre, alongside two other works: 769 00:48:16,127 --> 00:48:20,129 "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne," from the same period, 770 00:48:20,131 --> 00:48:23,132 and the "Mona Lisa." 771 00:48:23,134 --> 00:48:26,802 In all 3, he used his famous sfumato technique 772 00:48:26,804 --> 00:48:29,805 to mimic how the human eye perceives subtle changes 773 00:48:29,807 --> 00:48:32,241 in color and light. 774 00:48:37,648 --> 00:48:41,150 NICHOLL: Leonardo in Rome was experimenting 775 00:48:41,152 --> 00:48:47,657 with finer and finer glazes and varnishes, 776 00:48:47,659 --> 00:48:52,161 which he used to layer again and again 777 00:48:52,163 --> 00:48:54,163 over the paint surface, 778 00:48:54,165 --> 00:48:56,933 creating that sort of shimmering, 779 00:48:56,935 --> 00:48:59,869 mirage-like quality. 780 00:49:06,610 --> 00:49:08,277 And Leonardo, particularly in Rome, 781 00:49:08,279 --> 00:49:10,680 in his later years in Rome, 782 00:49:10,682 --> 00:49:13,182 was working almost like an alchemist 783 00:49:13,184 --> 00:49:18,621 on the preparation of these very subtle oils and varnishes. 784 00:49:20,190 --> 00:49:22,858 And indeed, the Pope, Leo X, 785 00:49:22,860 --> 00:49:26,028 the Medici pope who was there in Rome at the same time 786 00:49:26,030 --> 00:49:29,899 and who had rather a jaundiced or skeptical view of Leonardo, 787 00:49:29,901 --> 00:49:32,802 complained about the fact that he was always at work 788 00:49:32,804 --> 00:49:35,805 on his sort of chemical pots and pans, 789 00:49:35,807 --> 00:49:39,141 producing these varnishes, when he should be getting on with the painting. 790 00:49:39,143 --> 00:49:42,812 Well, of course, Leonardo would perhaps have replied, "I am getting on with the painting 791 00:49:42,814 --> 00:49:47,483 because this is an essential part of the operation." 792 00:49:47,485 --> 00:49:49,819 NARRATOR: Was the "Mona Lisa" also painted 793 00:49:49,821 --> 00:49:53,756 in this late period of artistic refinement? 794 00:49:53,758 --> 00:49:57,259 In the "Mona Lisa," when he comes to do that, everything is working. 795 00:49:57,261 --> 00:50:00,429 You know, it's-- everything works: 796 00:50:00,431 --> 00:50:03,933 the veils, the transparency, the opaque pigments. 797 00:50:03,935 --> 00:50:06,936 He's got it all under control, so this, 798 00:50:06,938 --> 00:50:09,105 begun probably in 1503, 799 00:50:09,107 --> 00:50:13,542 is a point of complete mastery after all the experimentation. 800 00:50:18,281 --> 00:50:20,483 PASCAL COTTE: 801 00:50:47,411 --> 00:50:49,745 NARRATOR: The "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre consists of 802 00:50:49,747 --> 00:50:54,250 up to 30 super-fine films of paint with so many layers, 803 00:50:54,252 --> 00:50:58,187 the naked eye can no longer see individual brush strokes. 804 00:51:01,324 --> 00:51:05,127 Is it possible Leonardo wanted to try his new technique 805 00:51:05,129 --> 00:51:09,065 on an old work he had abandoned long ago? 806 00:51:11,635 --> 00:51:15,638 Perhaps he saw the original as a failed experiment on canvas. 807 00:51:15,640 --> 00:51:19,141 Now he could re-create the alluring Florentine woman 808 00:51:19,143 --> 00:51:24,080 in all her magnificence, using his recent artistic advances. 809 00:51:31,354 --> 00:51:34,023 The similarities between the two portraits 810 00:51:34,025 --> 00:51:36,959 even go beyond the obvious. 811 00:51:41,198 --> 00:51:43,699 Though the size of the Isleworth is larger, 812 00:51:43,701 --> 00:51:47,369 the framing wider, when the scale is adjusted, 813 00:51:47,371 --> 00:51:49,872 the figures are exactly the same size, 814 00:51:49,874 --> 00:51:53,375 with identical proportions. 815 00:51:53,377 --> 00:51:55,878 The biggest difference between the two paintings 816 00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,714 is, in fact, not their appearance, 817 00:51:58,716 --> 00:52:00,883 but their condition. 818 00:52:00,885 --> 00:52:03,552 In contrast to her look-alike in the Louvre, 819 00:52:03,554 --> 00:52:06,055 the passage of time has left little trace 820 00:52:06,057 --> 00:52:08,991 on the Isleworth "Mona Lisa." 821 00:52:12,095 --> 00:52:15,097 LUX: The unusual thing, looking at this painting, 822 00:52:15,099 --> 00:52:17,600 is the nearly perfect condition. 823 00:52:17,602 --> 00:52:20,603 You only have some tiny losses, 824 00:52:20,605 --> 00:52:22,705 minor retouches, 825 00:52:22,707 --> 00:52:25,608 no damages of e painting surface. 826 00:52:25,610 --> 00:52:28,577 On all pieces of art I have worked on as a restorer, 827 00:52:28,579 --> 00:52:32,581 or I have done researches, they're looking completely different, 828 00:52:32,583 --> 00:52:35,084 much more damaged because of the time. 829 00:52:35,086 --> 00:52:37,419 So my impression is 830 00:52:37,421 --> 00:52:39,922 that this painting is-- 831 00:52:39,924 --> 00:52:42,258 couldn't be 500 years old. 832 00:52:42,260 --> 00:52:45,427 NARRATOR: It seems unfathomable that the Isleworth "Mona Lisa" 833 00:52:45,429 --> 00:52:50,366 could have been stored under perfect conditions for 500 years... 834 00:52:52,936 --> 00:52:56,305 remaining completely unknown to the world 835 00:52:56,307 --> 00:52:59,308 until an art dealer stumbled across it 836 00:52:59,310 --> 00:53:02,678 just when the Louvre "Mona Lisa" went missing. 837 00:53:05,248 --> 00:53:11,253 LUX: So it needs a lot of explanation to bring this... 838 00:53:11,255 --> 00:53:14,757 painting into the direction of being a Leonardo. 839 00:53:14,759 --> 00:53:17,259 The easy explanation, I think, 840 00:53:17,261 --> 00:53:20,329 is that it's not done by Leonardo. 841 00:53:20,331 --> 00:53:25,334 NARRATOR: Others say if Leonardo painted one, he painted them both. 842 00:53:25,336 --> 00:53:28,837 ASMUS: The weight of the evidence is that it had to be done 843 00:53:28,839 --> 00:53:33,876 by the same artist with the same hand, using the same technique. 844 00:53:36,846 --> 00:53:39,615 NARRATOR: Some believe the "Mona Lisa" mystery has been solved. 845 00:53:39,617 --> 00:53:44,053 For others, there is still not enough evidence to say for certain. 846 00:53:47,557 --> 00:53:50,226 Even with the most sophisticated science, 847 00:53:50,228 --> 00:53:52,628 it's not easy to outwit a genius, 848 00:53:52,630 --> 00:53:55,731 whether prankster or prodigy. 849 00:53:58,802 --> 00:54:03,305 "Mona Lisa" may never divulge her secrets. 850 00:54:03,307 --> 00:54:06,308 SERACINI: There is no way today that-- 851 00:54:06,310 --> 00:54:09,478 no exam, no sets of exams, 852 00:54:09,480 --> 00:54:12,982 no single scientist, no group of scientists 853 00:54:12,984 --> 00:54:16,585 that today will be able to identify 854 00:54:16,587 --> 00:54:19,788 the artist who made any work of art, including Leonardo. 855 00:54:25,295 --> 00:54:27,730 possible in part that today will be able to identify 856 00:54:27,732 --> 00:54:29,798 by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 857 00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:33,168 and by contributions to your PBS station from... 858 00:54:44,047 --> 00:54:47,082 ANNOUNCER: The "Secrets of the Dead" investigation continues online. 859 00:54:47,084 --> 00:54:49,084 For more in-depth analysis 860 00:54:49,086 --> 00:54:50,552 and streaming video of this and 861 00:54:50,554 --> 00:54:54,089 other episodes, visit pbs.org. 862 00:54:55,392 --> 00:54:56,892 ANNOUNCER: This "Secrets of the Dead" episode is available 863 00:54:56,894 --> 00:55:00,095 on DVD for $24.99 plus shipping. 864 00:55:00,097 --> 00:55:00,095 To order, call 1-800-336-1917.