The book that changes our view on Leonardo da Vinci paintings

Pascal
cotte
Pascal
cotte
T
lUMIÈRe on
t He l a D Y W I tH a n eR M I ne
by Leonardo da Vinci
his boo
examine
da Vinci and rev
One key to this
small ermine hi
today. We also
was to paint a cl
the instigation of
its composition
transformed it a
poem that descr
as this is an imp
Thanks to
is able to analys
brushstrokes. It
all its genesis. F
layers to the fina
and methodicall
about the constr
painter, his hesi
and respect for t
exciting with sim
lUMIÈRe on
tH e la D Y WItH an eR MIne
by Leonardo da Vinci
Unprecedented Discoveries
ltMI
collectIon
ltMI
collectIon
The book that changes our view
on Leonardo da Vinci paintings
All thes
traditional equip
uses a new scie
invented and na
25 unpublished
discover i e s
We believed we knew everything
about the painting of Leonardo
da Vinci, and we thought that
his paintings were painted all at once,
thought and structured, and that
could not be changed from the
initial project.
Nevertheless a new technique of
scientific analysis questions everything.
We were misled, not only on the
method but also on the technique.
Leonard is indecisive, maniac about
precision and perfection, he constantly
improves his paintings again and again.
A r e vo l u t i o n a ry
scientific technique of analysis
The technique which digitize Mona Lisa
The old techniques of analysis of painting allow to see
trough (X ray) and under the layer of the painting (Infrared).
The new technique that is explained and used in this book
allows to study deep inside the layer of the painting and
to peal it like a onion. Thanks to this technique we can
show 25 unpublished discoveries hidden since 500 years.
comment ça marcHe ?
fig.252. Résultats de la prise de vue multispectrale de La Dame à l’Hermine. Les treize images représentent les mesures de la réflexion de la lumière dans les différentes bandes de longueurs d’onde, des ultraviolets aux
infrarouges. En complément, en bas à droite, la vision en fausse couleur infrarouge et une reconstruction des couleurs pour un illuminant lumière du jour D65. La Dame à l’Hermine, Léonard de Vinci
224
A n e d u c at i o n a l
book
Leonardo da Vinci – red chalk studies of interlace motifs –
Royal Library, Windsor (inv. n° 12351v)
The painting’s peregrinations 1498-1946
Amazing elements of the costume
The discovery of Leonardo’s fingerprints
The secrets
L
Vinci
of
eonard da
A p r e st i g i o u s
r e a d i n g co mm i t t e e
Martin Kemp :
Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot :
Doctor in History of Art - Emeritus Professor – Trinity College,
Phd Art History - Pantheon Sorbonne University - Master in
Oxford - Expert in Leonardo da Vinci - Globally renowned
Museology - École du Louvre - First grade, Classics - Researcher,
author of over 250 publications.
lecturer.
Bruno Chenique
Dr. Frederik Leen
Doctor in History of Art - Géricault Specialist - Resident
Curator - Head of the Department of Modern Art. Royal
student at Villa Medici (Rome) 1991-92 & at the Getty Research
Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
Institute (Los Angeles) - Author of numerous books & articles on
Géricault - Currently preparing the new catalogue raisonné of
his paintings & unpublished drawings.
Mady Elias
Doctor of Physics - Researcher at the C.N.R.S. Unité Mixte
de Recherche 7588 - Director of the Art & Optics Laboratory
at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique de Boucicaut Professor at the Institut des NanoSciences, Paris (INSP),
Pierre & Marie Curie University (Paris VI).
Elisabetta Gnignera
Independent Researcher into the History of Italian Renaissance
Costume, specializing in hairstyles and head-dresses
(13th -16th centuries).
Cristina Geddo :
Doctor in History of Art.
Specialist in the Followers of Leonardo da Vinci.
Pascal Labreuche :
Doctor in History of Science & Techniques (University of Nantes)
- Associate Researcher – Centre François- Viète - Graduate
in Painting Conservation & Restoration (Institut National du
Patrimoine).
Dr. Janusz Walek :
Curator of the Foreign Paintings Department - National Museum
in Kraków - The Princes Czartoryski Museum
David Bull
Senior Consultant, former Chairman of Painting Conservation,
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. - Fellow of the
international Institute for Conservation - Author of the
comparison between The Lady with the Ermine and Ginevra de’
Benci in the publication “Two paintings of Leonardo”, Artibus et
Historiae. No 25, 1992 pp 76-82.
A new view of
A rt o f H i s to ry
The stages of the construction
LTMI COLLECTION & PASCAL COTTE
Lumière on
THE L A DY W ITH A N ER M INE
by Leonard da Vinci
Unprecedented Discoveries
Pascal COTTE
September 2014
The book
Pascal
cotte
T
his book on
examine in
da Vinci and reveals
One key to this wor
small ermine hidde
today. We also disc
was to paint a classi
the instigation of the
its composition and
transformed it again
poem that describes
as this is an importa
lUMIÈRe on
tHe laDY WItH an eRMIne
by Leonardo da Vinci
This book on The Lady with an Ermine is the first to examine in depth the
Pascal
cotte
painting technique of Leonardo da Vinci and reveals the secrets of the creation
of his paintings. One key to this work is the unprecedented discovery of a true
small ermine hidden beneath the visible animal that we see today. We also
discover that the first intention of the Master was to paint a classic portrait,
without any animal. Probably at the instigation of the Duke of Milan, Leonardo
may have altered its composition and later added an ermine then unsatisfied
transformed it again. Is it not strange that in 1493 the first poem that describes
this portrait does not mention the ermine, as this is an important element.
This book provides an answer. Thanks to a revolutionary new technique,
Pascal Cotte is able to analyse layer by layer all the superpositions of the
brushstrokes. It is thus possible to reconstruct the whole story, all its genesis.
From plank of wood, through all superimposed layers to the final appearance.
Everything is analyzed rigorously and methodically. It also enables to reveal
important details about the construction of the painting, the wanderings of
the painter, his hesitations, his errors and changes. With pedagogy and respect
for the reader, Pascal Cotte takes us on a tour quite exciting with simple and
clear explanations. All these findings were previously invisible with traditional
equipement of laboratories of museums. The author uses a new scientific
method of analysis of pictorial works he invented and named L.A.M. for Layer
Amplification Method.
lUMIÈRe on
t He la D Y W I tH a n e RMI ne
by Leonardo da Vinci
The L.A.M. image n°6. The Lady with an Ermine , Leonardo da Vinci © Lumière Technology / Pascal Cotte
The author
Thanks to a r
is able to analyse la
brushstrokes. It is th
all its genesis. From
layers to the final ap
and methodically. I
about the construct
painter, his hesitatio
and respect for the r
exciting with simple
Unprecedented Discoveries
288 pages
Pascal Cotte is an optical engineer, a photographer and a specialist in signal
processing of the image. He has founded several companies in the fields of
ltMI
ltMI
collectIon
collectIon
electronic, information technology and the manufacture of special scanners.
49 €
He founded Lumiere Technology in 1989, and in 2005, with Jean Penicaut, he
has founded the Multispectral Institute (LTMI) which today is the leader in
scientific analysis of paintings. Pascal Cotte is the inventor of the first high
definition multispectral camera that digitized Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in October 2004 and The Lady with an Ermine in September 2007 in Krakow,
Poland. He has digitized over 2,000 masterpieces in private and public collections. He is the author of several patents, publications on digital processing on images,
and scientific studies on famous paintings. His work has led to art historians support and demonstrate the hypothesis that the drawing on parchment La Bella
Principessa, is an original work by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci. His exhibition, Secrets of Mona Lisa, promoted by Grande Exhibition, has been seen by over
6 millions visitors worldwide since 2007.
284 illustrations
IsBn
9782954825816
Informations
Section : Fine Art
Text : Pascal Cotte
Date of first sale : 09/2014
Collection : LTMI
Size closed : 237,5 x 305 mm
Number of page : 280
Illustration : 288
Cover : Hardcover with jacket
retail Price : 49 €
Distribution :
Diffusion :
French version ISBN ean13 : 9782954825809
English version ISBN ean13 : 9782954825816
All these fi
traditional equipeme
uses a new scientifi
invented and named