Logo

Did Leonardo da Vinci paint two Mona Lisas? Where are they?

11.06.2025 05:09

Did Leonardo da Vinci paint two Mona Lisas? Where are they?

Source: St Petersburg. Hermitage, Russia.

Another version of the above exists, attributed to Salaj:

For the one below, art experts suggest that it contains touches indicating that Leonardo contributed to it.

James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, stretching from present day to the dawn of time - Live Science

Source: Louvre, Paris, France.

Then there are the ‘meza nuda’ paintings from his workshop, often referred to as Monna Vannas.

Donna Nuda:

Tender Moment Nurse Mare Adopts Orphaned Foal As Her Own Has Us in Tears - Yahoo

Obviously, the original Mona Lisa also inspired some cheeky versions of her.

La Joconde nue:

Source: Chantilly, Musée Condé, France.

What was the most challenging shift you experienced as an ER physician? Can you describe the details and reasons behind it?

Evidently there was a market for erotic paintings. The American art historian David Brown, curator of Italian Renaissance paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, has suggested that da Vinci painted a saucy parody of the Mona Lisa for his patron Giuliano de Medici, and that the Salai version is a copy.

While overall similar, there are differences in the shape of the face, the background and other details.

There is only one Mona Lisa, at the Louvre, fully credited to Leonardo. However, there are several Mona Lisa look-alikes from his studio, some of them quite saucy. The one most similar to the Louvre one is the Prado Mona Lisa, a copy made simultaneously in Leonardo's workshop while he painted the Mona Lisa, probably made by an apprentice(s):

As Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor, some Democrats are moving on - The Washington Post