By flicking between the two in photoshop it’s very obvious the answer is “no” (otherwise you wouldn’t even need to pose the question in the headline!)
The Da Vinci background is slightly less perspective compressed, so when compared to the copy the background to the left of the subject moves right but the background on the opposite side moves left.
If this was meant to be a stereo pair the background would move the same direction on both sides.
It’s a very striking effect, and Leonardo was famously smart enough to have thought of something like that, but that doesn’t really prove anything, especially as the “copy” really is noticeably different from the “original.” (The so-called Isleworth Mona Lisa intrigues me more, as it was done significantly earlier than the Louvre Mona Lisa, but also done on canvas, when all of Leonardo’s known works (except for The Last Supper) were done on wood.)
Also, for those who mention “The Giaconda Caper”: the Mona Vanna. [NSFW] Phwoar!
I hadn’t seen this version before.
The thing I do in 3D is present the normal Mona Lisa to one eye and the mirrored Mona Lisa to the other eye. I include links to two cross-eye examples of:
The painting.
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~robblack/monalisax.html
Close up of the face.
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~robblack/monalisaf.html
This is not a very stable illusion, and there are monocular regions which do not sit well on top of each other. However, with a bit of persistence, you should be able to see the arch of the forehead and the bridge of the nose as well as the relief of the chin above the neck. With a bit more, you may be able to get direct eye contact (this is quite difficult to sustain).
This trick also works on his notebook ‘selfie’ sketch. Again, works as in big monocular regions, hard to fuse, but there is a condition where you can see facial relief and detail:
sketchp
And on his skull/brain sketch. Here the two halves of the image create a transparent effect where you can see the relief of the skull and the brain inside it
skullp
And, at a push on the Last Supper. It has been well documented with people using the Mirrored Last Supper. The illusion is improved again by putting the original to one eye and the mirrored one to the other eye. Apologies for the presentation format, a lot of eye gymnastics required.
lastp
I’ve got grayscale anaglyph and 3DTV compatible ones of this too. I’m happy to share with anyone keen.
Remember da Vinci was well versed in the use of mirrors so this was completely achievable in the era. There are slight perspective offsets in much of his work. The question for me is whether he was trying for a full stereo pair or just one half mirrored.
I’m not really bothered about being right or whether he actually discovered stereo, he’s done enough, but I think a couple of these are quite compelling when seen under optimal conditions.
Rob Black
@robhblack
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