Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" is so well known that we think we have heard everything about it. This book is a report from the front of painting conservation science. Advances in radiography, optical scanning, infrared reflectography and a number of other new techniques have revealed a wealth of new information about the panel on which the "Mona Lisa" was painted, the underdrawing and underpainting of the image, the paint surface and the materials that went into each. This is a step-by-step analysis of how the painting was made, seen through the most exacting scientific eye. It offers new insight not only into the mind of Leonardo, but into the world of Renaissance painting as well. It will be an fascinating read to any reader seriously interested in the technique of painting.