Exhibition Portfolio

Secrets of Mona Lisa
French scientific engineer, examiner and photographer of fine art, Pascal Cotte was granted unprecedented access by the French Government and The Louvre Museum in Paris to conduct a scientific analysis on The Mona Lisa in late 2004. Cotte was invited to use his self invented and patented 240,000,000 pixel multispectral camera, the latest in fine art technology, and his superb analytical skills to examine the masterpiece. He did so under strict security and supervision, taking her out of her frame and away from the protective glass enclosure.

His scientific examination and subsequent findings have startled the art world. Cotte spent over 2 ½ years verifying his findings with world leading fine art curators and The Louvre.  25 revelations were made to world in October 2007 including identifying her original pigment colours from 1506; proving she indeed was painted with eyebrows and eyelashes and producing the world’s only accurate replica – a 360 ° walk around piece.
The documentation of this event, plus 40 large, high resolution sectional images of every aspect of the Mona Lisa make this one of the most amazing, different and compelling exhibitions in the world today.
When one visits the Louvre, you see the original – an experience that can never be compared. Unfortunately though due to her history of vandalism and popularity, you can only have a brief affair from a distance, with her behind thick bullet proof protection and only for a restricted short period of time.

Conversely when you visit our Secrets of Mona Lisa exhibition, you can immerse yourself into an in depth understanding and visual examination of what makes this mysterious masterpiece so special.

Amongst many things, one can learn:

- How Leonardo painted her, his techniques, thoughts, preparatory under drawings...
- What changes have been made to her by Leonardo’s own hand and over time?
- What effect restoration and varnish has made.
- What her original colour was in 1506

One can appreciate her and understand her story in full like never before.

The exhibition also showcases the latest and most sophisticated technology and trends for art historians and curators to catalogue, understand, restore and authenticate fine art.

This technology and the work of Pascal Cotte is fully supported by The Louvre Museum and many other leading art museums in Europe.