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Leonardo da Vinci may have drawn nude Mona Lisa

Posted September. 30, 2017 07:38,   

Updated September. 30, 2017 07:46

한국어
A nude sketch that bears a striking resemblance to the Mona Lisa may have been drawn by Italian artist master Leonardo da Vinci, AFP reported on Thursday.

A charcoal portrait of a nude woman, known as the “Monna Vanna,” has been held since 1982 in the collection of Renaissance art at the Conde Museum in the palace of Chantilly, north of the French capital. Experts at the Louvre Museum in Paris have concluded, after weeks of tests, that the charcoal drawing was “at least in part” done by Leonardo himself. The drawing was until now believed to have been drawn only by artists of Leonardo da Vinci’s studio.

“(The drawing) has a quality in the way the face and hands are rendered that is truly remarkable,” curator Mathieu Deldicque told AFP news agency. “We are looking at something, which was worked on in parallel with the Mona Lisa at the end of Leonardo’s life. It is almost certainly a preparatory work for an oil painting.”

Bruno Mottin, a Louvre conservation expert, also confirmed the drawing had been created at the turn of the 15th century. “Leonardo drew with his left hand. However, the hatching on the top of the drawing near the head was done by a right-handed person” Mottin said. “We must remain prudent about attributing this sketch to Leonardo. It is a job that is going to take some time.”



Su-Yeon Kim sykim@donga.com