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People Won’t Stop Demanding The Mona Lisa To Be Cleaned, So Someone Just Explained What Would Happen
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People Won’t Stop Demanding The Mona Lisa To Be Cleaned, So Someone Just Explained What Would Happen

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From rust being washed off some old pots to dirt removed from crevices between tiles, watching something return to its previous state is oddly satisfying and art pieces are no exception to that principle.

Not too long ago we shared a video of art expert Philip Mould removing the old varnish off a 400-year-old painting, which since then has gone viral. The fascinating process of painting restoration garnered attention on Tumblr where people were quick to demand the same thing to be done to Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous ‘Mona Lisa.’ A tempting idea, especially after seeing how beautiful the ‘Woman In Red’ looked after Mould’s treatment. In fact, some restoration work was done in 1809 on the original Mona Lisa, and that’s why it looks so ‘washed out’ as some layers of paint were removed during the process.

A Tumblr user named Eleanor quickly explained what would happen if someone tried to restore the famous painting to its original state. From introducing us to Leonardo’s painting techniques to the whole process of oil painting conservation, Eleanor explained why the restoration wouldn’t be worth the risk.

More info: Tumblr

Not too long ago the internet was fascinated by Philip Mould’s restoration of 400-year-old ‘Woman In Red’

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He used a mixture of gel and solvent, created specifically for this art piece, to remove the yellow varnish

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“A mixture of gel and solvent was created, specifically just to remove the varnish and not to damage the underlying paint”

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“It’s different from normal restoration, with the gel suspending the solvent and working more controllably”

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After seeing Mould’s work, people of Tumblr quickly demanded this be done to Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa,’ however, a user named Eleanor was quick to explain what would happen if someone did that

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Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Author, Community member

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As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

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Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Author, Community member

As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).

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