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OTTAWA, Sep 26, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A group of Canadian and French scientists say that the famed subject of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" had recently given birth to a son.
The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported that when scientific experts used infrared technology to delve beneath the legendary painting's layer of varnish, they found that Mona Lisa had been wearing a gauzy robe typically worn by women who recently gave birth.
A report from Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France curator Bruno Mottin strengthened the scientists' position by offering records that show that Leonardo's portrait of Mona Lisa, whose real name was Lisa Gherardini, was a commission to celebrate the woman's birth of her third child -- a boy.
The group had carried out its research at the Louvre in Paris and had found the hidden clothing after using a 3-D laser scanner on loan from Canada's National Research Council, said the paper.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
