Leonardo da Vinci's 500-year-old masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, may appear rather simple at first glance — but with her puzzling smile and curious air, this famous painting has always hinted at something more mysterious.
In fact, to solve her riddles, the beloved painting has been deeply studied and replicated many times over the years — including a 3D version that has allowed the blind to study her mysterious smile.
But one recent study has truly shocked the art world to its core. Its suggestion? That a second Mona Lisa lies painted beneath!
A few years ago, French scientist Pascal Cotte first pioneered the "Lumière Technology," a method that uses acute light sources to scan, reflect, and reveal layers hidden underneath paintings, invisible to the human eye.
Now, he is claiming that there is another portrait hidden underneath the Mona Lisa, and is challenging what experts have concluded about the Renaissance treasure for centuries.
Scroll further to see what he has to say about all this, as told to the BBC, and let us know what you think in the comments below!
[H/T: BBC, The Telegraph]
New astounding research has revealed that there may be a second portrait under the Mona Lisa.
Painted in the early 1500s by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa has entranced viewers for centuries with her enigmatic expression and intriguing composition.
Pascal Cotte, the French engineer behind the new analysis, used a special technique called “reflective light technology” to reveal what appears to be hidden beneath the portrait.
After making an initial “scan” back in 2012, he discovered what appeared to be one to two additional paintings beneath the Mona Lisa.
He has since created a digital reconstruction of the woman depicted in this newly found painting.
This mysterious woman looks off to one side, and has a narrower face with slightly more feminine features.
We know today that da Vinci most likely modeled the Mona Lisa after Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a silk merchant and local official.
Now, it seems that this newly discovered second painting more closely resembles the woman in real life.
Experts in the art world are divided on the discovery.
Some maintain that, because it is embedded underneath the surface of the painting, it was likely an earlier attempt at the painting, much like a first draft that was then traced over.
Others, however, believe that it is a painting of an entirely different woman.
A new BBC documentary called Secrets of the Mona Lisa recently aired, exploring the research and technology that have shed a new light on the priceless painting, as well as the controversy surrounding the masterpiece.
In this documentary, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon walks us through Pascal’s Layer Amplification Method (LAM), which uses intense light to reveal what we otherwise wouldn’t see.
After an even closer look, Pascal claims that there are in fact three different paintings underneath the Mona Lisa.
One is reportedly of a woman painted in the style of Madonna, with an intricate hairpiece — and another is an early sketch of a head.
Some prominent art historians agree that this newly discovered, slimmer version of the Mona Lisa is the truer depiction of Lisa del Giocondo.
“The one we discovered is compatible [with fashion at the time] and better matches descriptions of the original portrait,” Pascal told the Daily Mail.
Still, he wonders whether the two different portraits actually depict the same woman.
It may not be Lisa del Giocondo, like many believe, and may in fact be a painting of Pacifica Brandano, the lover of one of da Vinci’s patrons.
Many art professors, like Dr. Marin Kemp at the University of Oxford, don’t believe this theory.
“[Pascal’s reconstructions] are ingenious in showing what Leonardo may have been thinking about. But the idea that there is that picture as it were hiding underneath the surface is untenable,” he told Roya Nikkhah of the BBC.
Many other experts have commented, saying that the “different paintings” likely represent the different stages of the one single portrait, and show how the final painting evolved.
More still has to develop on this analysis, and we’re very excited to see the truth behind this centuries-old masterpiece.
To learn more about this mysterious painting, be sure to watch the video below!
Who do you think this mysterious lady was? Do you think the hidden layers are just drafts, or something more puzzling?
Let us know in the comments below, and please SHARE if you find art history fascinating!
