Mona Lisa: Inside the Painting

I bought this book for art research purposes, to paint my own Mona Lisa perhaps with less cracking :) , but was blown away by the amount of information presented for a single painting, albeit one of the most famous and valuable. You get full information on the support itself (which has shrunk a bit) , the cracks, the pigments and composition, and even the retouching it has undergone due to conservation, or worse, attacks by... Read Full Review

This oversized coffee table book will delight all art lovers, particularly those who are into art history and restoration. It deserves 6 stars, actually, but I gave it 4 because for some reason authors chosed not to include Mona Lisa photo with digitally removed varnish. It can be seen on this link http://www.lumiere-technology.com/Pages/News/news3.htm and I had hoped that this book will feature it also, since one of the... Read Full Review

This book is absolutely a must-have for any fan of the Mona Lisa. The scientific breakdown of the painting, the intricate images and graphs, the descriptions of the colors and form all combine to create a intriguing and gripping look at one of the world's most famous paintings. If you are fascinated by art restoration and the use of technology to analyse paintings then this book is an essential resource, but even a casual... Read Full Review

There's no other word for it: simply fabulous! Any art historian, student or just anyone interested in Leonardo's paintings will want to have this wonderful work. It peels away layers of varnish and paint like an onion and reveals Leonardo's technique in all its wonders.