A version of the Mona Lisa – believed to have been painted more than a decade before the famous portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci that hangs in the Louvre – has gone on display for the first time in modern history.
The painting, showing what appears to be a younger Lisa and for years considered one of many inferior copies, has been controversially authenticated by a number of art historians and experts as it begins its first public exhibition in modern history.
The experts, who make up the Swiss-based Mona Lisa Foundation, believe the work was completed around 1505 by the master artist. Like the more famous version, it is said to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.
The painting, showing what appears to be a younger Lisa and for years considered one of many inferior copies, has been controversially authenticated by a number of art historians and experts as it begins its first public exhibition in modern history.
The experts, who make up the Swiss-based Mona Lisa Foundation, believe the work was completed around 1505 by the master artist. Like the more famous version, it is said to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.