'Mona Lisa' doppelgänger uncovers surprising truths about Da Vinci's masterpiece

Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci's magnum opus "Mona Lisa" is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Currently housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Renaissance artwork attracts many tourists every year. However, not many know that seemingly identical copies of the painting exist in other parts of the world. One such copy made by Da Vinci's apprentice was found to be one of the earliest replications of the original painting. Experts from Museo Del Prado in Madrid, Spain, deciphered some of Da Vinci's creative intricacies by examining this copy.

Prado's "Mona Lisa," an oil painting on a walnut panel, was assumed to have been made roughly around 1507 to 1516. As per My Modern Met, this painting had been a part of the Prado Museum since 1819 and has been considered a trivial copy like many such replicas from the 16th and 17th centuries. It endured some repaintings during the 18th century when the background landscape was covered in black. But the true story behind the painting came to light when it was prepped for a 2011 Louvre exhibition called "Leonardo's Last Masterpiece: The Sainte Anne." Using infrared reflectograms, the experts of Prado Museum compared the Louvre and Prado panels and found some identical details, indicating that the two paintings were created simultaneously.

The experts identified that the creation of the figures seemed identical beneath the surface, which showed that the apprentice was working in parallel with Da Vinci following the same cartoon. However, the artist added some freehand strokes while correcting the size and shape of the drawing, which was visible during the examination. The Prado experts believe that only someone who worked simultaneously with the master himself would have known the little tweaks he made to the work along the way. Another similarity was the oil-based whitefish background in both paintings, with Prado's piece differing with an orangish priming. However, the apprentice's work was different in terms of "quality and handling" and how the paint was applied. The Prado panel seemed to be a carefully painted one with the apprentice trying to conceal his brushstrokes, which experts found by examining it under a microscope.

Another crucial aspect of the Prado panel was that a portion of the background landscape was unfinished. Prado experts believe that the rock formations in the painting were painted towards the completion of the portrait by Da Vinci in Milan around 1508- 15011. It was presumed that the apprentice must have left the landscape unfinished after Da Vinci departed to Rome or France but managed to learn the art from the master during the time they worked in parallel.

 Overall, the observation revealed that Da Vinci's painting had a tinge of "imprecision and delicacy," which could not be replicated by his apprentice, who followed a precise technique to paint the Prado panel. Despite the simultaneous creation of both panels, the lack of precision and use of techniques that spoke of the uniqueness of Da Vinci's process won over the art world. The experts haven't found any other independent artworks by the apprentice so far.