The Doni Tondo, a tempera-on-wood painting dated between 1506 and 1508, in the collection of the Uffizi, is one of the few completed by Michelangelo and represents an essential masterpiece of High Renaissance art.
To mark the 450th anniversary of Michelangelo’s death, the Doni Tondo has been scanned by Haltadefinizione, the Novara-based company that makes high-definition images of great works of art available to the public (theflr.net/haltadefinizione).
The image of the Doni Tondo measures 2,538,733,144 pixels, permitting an extraordinary view that reveals the master’s every brushstroke.
This is the 41st work in the Uffizi scanned by Haltadefinizione and available in its image bank. Among them are Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation, Caravaggio’s Bacchus and numerous works by Botticelli, including the Birth of Venus and Primavera.
Haltadefinizione’s technology has been specially developed in close cooperation with the Italian institute for conservation and restoration, paying attention to any potential damage caused to the work surface by the use of flash and lighting in terms of both light and heat. The lighting system has been designed so as to minimise the area exposed during every single click thanks to a special pointer, while the use of filters allows the removal of any unwanted UV components.
