Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Mona Lisa - A Prototype for Multidisciplinary Science Education

  • Article
  • Published:
Science & Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Behind the creativities and innovations in human history, there lie the humble practices of multidisciplinary studies that drive new revolutionary ideas and unconventional approaches. One such example is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—one of the perennial portraits that bear witness to a transcendent level of creative art. It is one of his unique touchstones where he played with light and shade in such a way that both motion and emotion are entwined to the highest point of perfection in the ecstatic smile of the Mona Lisa. By explaining how Leonardo created an unfathomable emotion in her smile and veiled her face by optics of uncertainty through the fusion of art and science, here we show why and how it can be considered as a prototype for multidisciplinary science education. The analysis of the inner details together with Leonardo’s scientific epistemology advocates the importance of putting into practice repeated experiments and observations on widely diverse faculties for the emergence of innovative ideas, for the depiction of reality and for fostering creations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Argentieri, D. (1956). Leonardo’s optics. In In Leonardo da Vinci, collected studies. Reynal.

  • Banich, M. T., & Compton, R. J. (2018). Cognitive neuroscience. Cambridge University Press.

  • Barber, B. (2004). Through the eyes of Leonardo d Vinci. Arcturus Publishing.

  • Barnes, J. (2015). Cross- curricular learning (pp. 3–14). Sage.

  • Beane, J. (1997). Curriculum integration: designing the core of a democratic school. Teachers College Press.

  • Ben-David, J. (1971). The scientist’s role in society: A comparative study. Prentice-Hall.

  • Bender, D. M. (2005). Developing a collaborative multidisciplinary online design course. The Journal of Educators Online.

  • Boyarskaya, E., et al. (2015). The Mona Lisa effect: Neural correlates of centered and off-centered gaze. Human Brain Mapping, 36, 619–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capra, F. (2007). The science of Leonardo. Anchor books.

  • Castaing, J., & Cotte, M. (2007). Physicist glances at cultural heritage. Europhysics News, 38, 20–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavanagh, P. (2005). The artist as neuroscientist. Nature, 434, 301–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, A. (2013). The aesthetic brain: How we evolved to desire beauty and enjoy art. Oxford University Press.

  • Cheek, D. (1992). Thinking constructively about science, technology and society education. State University of New York Press.

  • Christie, R. M. (2015). Color chemistry (2nd ed.). The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  • Dahan, S., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2017). A picture is worth a thousand words: Art and medicine. IMAJ, 19, 772–776.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darvas, G. (2007). Symmetry. Switzerland: Birkhäuser.

  • de Viguerie, L., Ducouret, G., Lequeux, F., Moutard-Martin, T., & Walter, P. (2009). Historical evolution of oil painting media: A rheological study. Comptes rendus de Physique, 10, 612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Viguerie, L., Walter, P., Laval, E., Mottin, B., & Arnando Sole, V. (2010). Revealing the sfumato technique of Leonardo da Vinci by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Angewandte Chemie, 122, 6261–6264. https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201001116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dequeker, J., Muls, E., & Leenders, K. (2004). Xanthelasma and lipoma in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. IMAJ, 6(8), 505–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinov, I. (2008). Integrated multidisciplinary and technology- enhanced science education: The next frontier. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 84–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drake, S. (1998). Creating integrated curriculum: Proven ways to increase student learning. Corwin Press.

  • Elias, M., & Cotte, P. (2008). Multispectral camera and radiative transfer equation used to depict Leonardo’s sfumato in Mona Lisa. Applied Optics, 47(12), 2146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, V. (2007). Traditional oil painting: Advanced techniques and concepts from the Renaissance to the present. Watson-Guptill Publications.

  • Erduran, S. (2020). Editorial Vision for Science & Education. Science & Education.

  • Farago, C. J. (1991). Leonardo’s color and chiaroscuro reconsidered: The visual force of painted images. The Art Bulletin, 73, 63–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farah, M. (2000). The cognitive neuroscience of vision. Blackwell Publishers.

  • Faubert, J., & Herbert, A. M. (1999). The peripheral drift illusion: A motion illusion in the visual periphery. Perception, 28, 617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, P. A., Crawford, D. L., Kim, S., Munoz, J. L. A., & Munoz, J. L. (2005). Cyber infrastructure for science and engineering: Promises and challenges. Proceedings of the IEEE, 93, 682–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galili, I. (2013). On the power of fine arts pictorial imagery in science education. Science & Educations, 22, 1911–1938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galili, I. (2016). From comparison between scientists to gaining cultural scientific knowledge. Science & Educations, 25, 115–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galili, I., & Zinn, B. (2007). Physics and art – A cultural symbiosis in physics education. Science & Educations, 16, 441–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, J. I., et al. (2017). Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. Springer.

  • Gribble, C. D. (2003). Optical mineralogy: Principles and practice. CRC Press.

  • HFSP (Human Frontier Science Program). (2001). The pipeline and the tree: Towards a new paradigm for education, training, and career pathways in the natural sciences. Technical report. Available at www.hfsp.org/pubs/PositionPapers/funders.html.

  • Horstmann, G., & Loth, H. (2019). The Mona Lisa illusion—scientists see her looking at them though she isn’t. i-Perception, 10(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isaacson, W. (2017). Leonardo da Vinci. Simon & Schuster.

  • Kemp, M. (2006). Leonardo da Vinci: The marvellous works of nature and man. Oxford University Press.

  • Kemp, M., & Pallanti, G. (2017). Mona Lisa: The people and the painting. Oxford University Press.

  • Klein C., & Ettinger U. (Eds.). (2019). Eye movement research. Springer.

  • Klemke, E. D., Hollinger, R., & Rudge, D. W. (1998). Introductory readings in the philosophy of science. Prometheus Books.

  • Klockenkamper, R., von Bohlen, A., & Moens, L. (2000). Analysis of pigments and inks on oil paintings and historical manuscripts using total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. X-ray Spectrometry, 29, 119–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.

  • Kontsevich, L. L., & Tyler, C. W. (2004). What makes Mona Lisa smile? Vision Research, 44, 1493–1498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kosslyn, S. M., Thompson, W. L., & Ganis, G. (2006). The case for metal imagery. Oxford.

  • Koukel, S. D. (2006). Teaching styles and computer use in family and consumer sciences teacher education programs: A survey of university faculty in Texas. Texas Tech University.

  • Kulvicki, J. (2010). Knowing with images: Medium and message. Philosophy of Science, 77(2), 295–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landrus, M. (2010). Leonardo da Vinci’s giant crossbow. Springer-Verlag.

  • Laurenza, D., & Kemp, M. (2019). Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester (vol. 1). Oxford University Press.

  • Leahey, E. (2007). Not by productivity alone: How visibility and specialization contribute to academic earnings. American Sociological Review, 72(4), 533–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liaci, E., et al. (2017). Mona Lisa is always happy – and only sometimes sad. Scientific Reports, 7, 43511. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, M. S. (2000). Is it warm? Is it real? Or just low spatial frequency? Science, 290, 1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, M. (2002). Vision and art: The biology of seeing. Abrams.

  • Lopes, D. (2004). Understanding pictures. Clarendon Press.

  • Maragkou, M. (2018). Science at the museum. Nature Material, 17, 110–111. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat5071.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsili, L., Ricciardi, L., & Bologna, M. (2019). Unraveling the asymmetry of Mona Lisa smile. Cortex, 120, 607–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Conde, S., Otero-Millan, J., & Macknik, S. L. (2013). The impact of microsaccades on vision: towards a uni ed theory of saccadic function. Nature Review Neuroscience, 14, 83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, M. R., & Campbell, H. R. (2018). The Mona Lisa decrypted: Allure of an imperfect reality. Mayo Clinic Proceedings., 93(9), 1325–1331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meisner, G. B. (2018). The golden ratio: The divine beauty of mathematics. Race Point Publishing.

  • Mohen, J.-P., Menu, M., & Mottin, B. (2006). Mona Lisa: Inside the painting. New-York: Abrams.

  • Mullen L. (1998). Truth in photography: perception, myth and reality in the postmodern world. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Florida.

  • Munshi, R., Coalson, R. D., Ermentrout, G. B., Mardura, J. D., Meirovitch, H., Stiles, J. R., & Bahar, I. (2006). An introduction to stimulation and visualization of biological systems at multiple scales: A summer training program for interdisciplinary research. Biotechnology Progress, 22, 179–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesse, W. D. (2012). Introduction to mineralogy. Oxford University Press.

  • Okrusch M., & Frimmel H. E. (2020). Mineralogy: An introduction to minerals, rocks, and mineral deposits. Springer Nature.

  • Otero-Millan, J., Macknik, S. L., & Martinez-Conde, S. (2012). Microsaccades and blinks trigger illusory rotation in the rotating snakes illusion. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 6043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinch, T. (1985). Towards an analysis of scientific observation: The externality and evidential significance of observation reports in physics. Social Studies of Science, 15, 3–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Queiros-Conde, D. (2004). The turbulent structure of sfumato within Mona Lisa. Leonardo, 37, 175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy A. (Ed.). (1993). Artists’ pigments: A handbook of their history and characteristics, vol. 2. Archetype Publications.

  • Shearman, J. (1962). Leonardo’s colour and chiaroscuro. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 25, 13–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simms, D. L. (1988). Archimedes’ weapons of war and leonardo. British Journal on History of Science, 21, 195–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. P. (1959). The two cultures and the scientific revolution. Cambridge University Press.

  • Traft, W. S., & Mayer, J. W. (2006). The science of paintings. Springer Science & Business Media.

  • Van Fraassen, B. C. (1980). The scientific image. Clarendon Press.

  • Vannatta, R. A., & Fordham, N. (2004). Teacher dispositions as predictors of classroom technology use. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36, 253–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, R. (1966). The world of Leonardo. Time-Life.

  • Wallert, A., Hermens, E., & Peek, M. (Eds.). (1995). Historical painting techniques, materials and studio practice. Malibu: Getty Conservation Institute.

  • Walter, P. (2013). Chemical analysis and painted colours: The mystery of Leonardo’s sfumato. European Review, 21(2), 175–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, P., & de Viguerie, L. (2018). Materials science challenges in paintings. Nature Materials, 17, 106–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. (2000). Leonardo the first scientist. Abacus.

  • Wineburg, S., & Grossman, P. (2000). Interdisciplinary curriculum: Challenges to implementation. Teachers College Press.

  • Yafi, M. (2019). Mona Lisa is euthyroid: A modern-day diagnosis. Hormones. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-019-00103-x.

  • Zollner, F. (1993). Leonardo’s portrait of Mona Lisa Del Gioconda. Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 121, 115–138.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The present article is published as a requirement of scientific social responsibility policy under the MATRICS scheme, granted by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India (Grant No. MTR/2019/000044).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati, 781 001, India

    Kishore Dutta

Authors
  1. Kishore Dutta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kishore Dutta.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The author declares conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dutta, K. The Mona Lisa - A Prototype for Multidisciplinary Science Education. Sci & Educ 30, 693–716 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-020-00192-w

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-020-00192-w

Search

Navigation