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kottke.org posts about Leonardo da Vinci

Why does the woman depicted in the

Why does the woman depicted in the Mona Lisa appear to be both smiling and not smiling at the same time? The smile part of the Mona Lisa’s face was painted by Leonardo in low spatial frequencies. This means that when you look right at her mouth, there’s no smile. But if you look at her eyes or elsewhere in the portrait, your peripheral vision picks up the smile. (via collision detection)


myDaVinci takes your photo and pastes your

myDaVinci takes your photo and pastes your face onto the Mona Lisa. Not a fan of Leonardo? Try being the Girl with a Pearl Earring or American Gothic. (via ais)


Two Da Vincis long held in private

Two Da Vincis long held in private collections to go on public display for the first time.


Da Vinci scholar may have found a

Da Vinci scholar may have found a long lost Da Vinci fresco.