第1983期:Scientists Learn Another ‘Mona Lisa’ Secret

The Mona Lisa is the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of a woman with a mysterious smile. 

《蒙娜丽莎》是列奥纳多·达·芬奇的著名画作，画中的女人带着神秘的微笑。 

This week, the painting gave up a secret. 

本周，这幅画透露了一个秘密。 

Scientists used X-rays to examine the chemical structure of an extremely small part of the more than 500-year-old painting. The researchers discovered a technique Leonardo used in the work. 

科学家们利用 X 射线检查了这幅 500 多年历史画作中极小部分的化学结构。研究人员发现了列奥纳多在作品中使用的一种技术。 

A team in France and Britain discovered an oil paint used for the Mona Lisa was a special, new chemical mixture. 

法国和英国的一个研究小组发现，用于《蒙娜丽莎》的油画是一种特殊的新型化学混合物。 

The research was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It suggests that the Italian artist may have been in an experimental mood when he set to work on the painting early in the 16th century. 

该研究周三发表在《美国化学会杂志》上。这表明这位意大利艺术家在 16 世纪初开始创作这幅画时可能处于一种实验的心情。 

“He was someone who loved to experiment, and each of his paintings is completely different technically,” said Victor Gonzalez. He is the study’s lead writer and a chemist at France’s top research organization, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Gonzalez has studied the chemical makeup of several works by Leonardo, Rembrandt and other artists. “

他是一个喜欢尝试的人，他的每幅画在技术上都完全不同，”维克多·冈萨雷斯说。他是该研究的主要作者，也是法国顶级研究机构国家科学研究中心 (CNRS) 的化学家。冈萨雷斯研究了达·芬奇、伦勃朗和其他艺术家的几幅作品的化学成分。

“In this case, it’s interesting to see that indeed there is a specific technique for the ground layer of Mona Lisa,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. 

“在这种情况下，有趣的是，蒙娜丽莎的底层确实有一种特殊的技术，”他在接受美联社采访时说道。 

Specifically, the researchers found a rare compound, plumbonacrite, in Leonardo’s first layer of paint. The discovery, Gonzalez said, confirmed that da Vinci most likely used lead oxide to thicken and help dry his paint.

具体来说，研究人员在达芬奇的第一层油漆中发现了一种罕见的化合物，铅铅矿。冈萨雷斯说，这一发现证实达芬奇很可能使用氧化铅来增稠并帮助干燥他的油漆。

Carmen Bambach, a specialist in Italian art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, called the research “very exciting.” Bambach, who was not involved in the study, said it shows “Leonardo’s spirit of passionate and constant experimentation as a painter,” she wrote in an email. 

纽约大都会艺术博物馆意大利艺术专家卡门·班巴赫 (Carmen Bambach) 称这项研究“非常令人兴奋”。班巴赫没有参与这项研究，她在一封电子邮件中写道，这显示了“莱昂纳多作为画家的热情和不断实验的精神”。 

The speck of paint in the imaging study is about the thickness of a human hair. It lies in the top right area of the painting. 

成像研究中的油漆斑点大约是人类头发的厚度。它位于画作的右上方区域。 

The scientists looked into its atomic structure using X-rays in a synchrotron. The machine moves particles at close to the speed of light, permitting researchers to look deeper into the paint structure. 

科学家们在同步加速器中使用 X 射线研究了它的原子结构。该机器以接近光速移动粒子，使研究人员能够更深入地了解油漆结构。 

“Plumbonacrite is really a fingerprint of his recipe,” Gonzalez said. “It’s the first time we can actually chemically confirm it.” 

“Plumbonacrite 确实是他的配方的指纹，”冈萨雷斯说。“这是我们第一次能够真正通过化学方法确认它。” 

Dutch artist Rembrandt may have used a similar mixture when he was painting in the 17th century. Gonzalez and other researchers have found plumbonacrite in his work, too. 

荷兰艺术家伦勃朗在 17 世纪绘画时可能也使用过类似的混合物。冈萨雷斯和其他研究人员也在他的工作中发现了铅铅矿。

“It tells us also that those recipes were passed on for centuries,” Gonzalez said. “It was a very good recipe.” 

“它还告诉我们，这些食谱已经传承了几个世纪，”冈萨雷斯说。“这是一个非常好的食谱。” 

Leonardo is thought to have melted lead oxide powder, which has an orange color, in linseed or walnut oil to make it thicker and dry faster. 

人们认为列奥纳多将橙色的氧化铅粉末融化在亚麻籽油或核桃油中，使其变得更稠并且干燥得更快。 

“What you will obtain is an oil that has a very nice golden color,” Gonzalez said. “It flows more like honey.” 

“你将获得一种具有非常漂亮的金色的油，”冈萨雷斯说。“它更像蜂蜜一样流动。” 

But the Mona Lisa — said by the Louvre to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant — and additional works by Leonardo still have other secrets to tell. 

但《蒙娜丽莎》——卢浮宫称其为佛罗伦萨丝绸商人妻子丽莎·盖拉迪尼的肖像——以及列奥纳多的其他作品仍有其他秘密需要讲述。 

“There are plenty, plenty more things to discover,” Gonzalez said. “What we are saying is just a little brick more in the knowledge.” 

“还有很多很多东西有待发现，”冈萨雷斯说。“我们所说的只是知识上的一点积木。”