Mona Lisa Too Yellow? -- Jaundiced Eye Cast On Face-Lift

PARIS - Yellowed by layers of varnish applied over the centuries, the jaundiced Mona Lisa remains the Louvre's top attraction. Some experts say it's high time for a face-lift, but the Louvre says, "Hands off."

Using a computer, a French art magazine is offering a glimpse of what the Mona Lisa may have looked like when Leonardo da Vinci painted her in 1503: rosy cheeks instead of yellow pallor, pale blue skies instead of the famed sunset glow.

The bimonthly magazine Journal des Arts published two photos of the Mona Lisa - one touched up, the other as is - in its current edition, along with divergent opinions on a possible face-lift for the 30-by-21-inch painting.

For the Louvre, there's no debate at all.

"It's absolutely out of the question to restore the Mona Lisa in any way,"said Jean-Pierre Cuzin , chief paintings' curator at the museum.

Cuzin said the last touch-up dates to the mid-1950s, when experts removed several age spots. Despite the canvas's yellow hues, Cuzin said the painting is in good condition and doesn't need cleaning now.

Da Vinci pioneered the complex techniques to achieve the brilliance and subtlety that have made the work so famous. And experts agree that a face-lift would be tricky, if not a nightmare.

"If you want a restoration expert to commit suicide, put him to work on the Mona Lisa," said Jean-Gabriel Goulinat, who worked on the masterpiece for more than 30 years.

Resin, lacquer and varnish have been layered on the painting at different intervals in the past 495 years. Their chemical reaction to natural light have made the Mona Lisa look as though she's suffering from hepatitis, and all require different types of solvent for removal, which could cause irreparable damage to the painting.

But Cuzin makes another point that transcends the debate over possible damage to the painting: While viewers may believe that vivid pinks and blues and whites reside beneath the multiple coats of varnish, Mona Lisa may never have had such vibrant coloring.

"Unlike Raphael, for example, da Vinci used very little contrast. His palette was different hues of brown and gray," he said.