The Lone Reckoner

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Spain’s Prado Museum said Wednesday it has a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” that one of his students painted in the studio where the masterpiece was completed. A museum spokeswoman said the copy was done alongside the 16th-century original, apparently making it the earliest replica of the work ever found. The Prado said it didn’t realize the significance of its copy of the “Mona Lisa” until a recent restoration revealed hidden layers. There are dozens of the surviving replicas of the masterpiece from the 16th and 17th centuries.The Madrid version shows the same woman figure, but prior to the restoration it lacked the landscape background and was covered with paint and varnish. The spokeswoman said the painting had once been on display in the museum but had always been considered a pretty poor copy.

Spain’s Prado Museum said Wednesday it has a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” that one of his students painted in the studio where the masterpiece was completed. A museum spokeswoman said the copy was done alongside the 16th-century original, apparently making it the earliest replica of the work ever found. The Prado said it didn’t realize the significance of its copy of the “Mona Lisa” until a recent restoration revealed hidden layers. There are dozens of the surviving replicas of the masterpiece from the 16th and 17th centuries.The Madrid version shows the same woman figure, but prior to the restoration it lacked the landscape background and was covered with paint and varnish. The spokeswoman said the painting had once been on display in the museum but had always been considered a pretty poor copy.

  1. robotovan reblogged this from the-lone-reckoner and added:
    I think this is awesome!
  2. the-lone-reckoner posted this