New technology offers Mona Lisa info

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- New technology has revealed details about one of the world's most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa by Italian master Leonardo da Vinci.

"Da Vinci -- an Exhibition of Genius" is getting a new installation that unveils 25 secrets about the painting, marking the first time these discoveries will be displayed in the United States, exhibition organizers RYP Australia have announced.

"Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed" showcases the work of French engineer Pascal Cotte, who invented the 240-megapixel, multi-spectral Imaging Camera, which uses infrared technology and intense illumination to scan the painting and virtually peel away layers of varnish applied throughout centuries.

Cotte used the camera to uncover how the Mona Lisa looked as she was originally painted and to document layers of over-painting, restoration and attempts at preservation --even identifying the individual pigments Leonardo used and revealing for the first time the verifiable presence of eyebrows.

The touring exhibition, which is at The Metreon in San Francisco, offers a glimpse of Mona Lisa's original gaze and smile and reveals new information regarding the mark on the corner of her eye, the lace on her dress that has disappeared over time and a change in the position of her fingers.