A Tokyo acoustic research firm says it has produced simulated voices for Leonardo da Vinci and his famous subject, the Mona Lisa, by analyzing facial bone structure using techniques drawn from criminal forensics. The work was commissioned as part of Microsoft Japan's promotional campaign for the Hollywood adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code."
Lab director Matsumi Suzuki estimated the Mona Lisa's height at 168 centimeters by studying the length of her right middle finger and comparing it against average Italian female stature. He gave her a relatively low pitch for a woman and added a slight nasal quality based on the proportions of her nose in the painting.
For Leonardo himself, Suzuki modeled a voice appropriate for a man of about 60, matching the bearded portrait most commonly associated with him. Because the beard obscured the jaw in that image, he assumed a heavy-jowled face, producing a deep bass tone.
Suzuki is a former police audio engineer with a broad public profile. He has analyzed recordings attributed to Osama bin Laden and co-developed Bowlingual, a Takara toy marketed as a dog-language translator, for which he received the 2002 IgNobel Peace Prize.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.