Is there a SECOND Mona Lisa?

Art experts are examining a painting held in a private collection, they believe might be a second version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

And leading Mona Lisa scholars say the similarities in colours, which are being examined using infra-red technology, hold the key to determining if the painting is in fact another da Vinci.

‘There are many indicators pointing to the Tuscan artistic genius,’ research coordinator Silvano Vinceti said.

‘But of course it’s only a hypothesis’.

There are numerous theories that da Vinci painted more than one version and there are conflicting dates about when the painting was commissioned and finished.

New art analysis software, developed by leading da Vinci scholar Carlo Pedretti, has shown that the same artist may have created both the Mona Lisa and the painting in Russia.

‘When comparing the preparatory study from the Louvre and the painting, the overlap between the two was clear to see,’ Mr Pedretti said.

‘[It’s clear from] the columns, present in the Russian painting and in the preparatory study, but also in the perfect resemblance between the upper lip in the preparatory study, the Russian painting and the Mona Lisa.’

Expert restorer of da Vinci’s work Paulo De Serra said that there is a ‘possibility the painting could be the work of Leonardo or one of his pupils.

Da Vinci is believed to have worked on the painting between 1503 and 1517 and for centuries, it has been believed the woman with the enigmatic smile is Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant.

Presented by art historian, Andrew Graham-Dixon, the programme used the latest optical, forensic and historical tools to examine new evidence that the painting hanging in the Louvre may not be the original Lisa.

One of the techniques used was the Layer Amplification Method, (LAM) which involves projecting a ‘series of intense lights’ on a painting to reveal what lies beneath what is visible to the naked eye.

Mr Cotte claims his technique is able to find layers undetected by other tests.

In a previous study, Mr Cotte worked with academics to reveal the original colours the Mona Lisa had been after it had been painted. He has also used the technique to study the ‘smoky’ sfumato style used to achieve the paintings enigmatic smile.

Source: Daily mail

N.H.Khider