Is there a SECOND Mona Lisa? Experts examine claims a version of the da Vinci masterpiece is held in a private Russian collection
By ISABEL HUNTER FOR MAILONLINE
Technology: Optical and forensic tools are being used to peel back the truth behind one the world’s most famous paintings
Art experts are examining a painting held in a private collection in St Petersburg they believe might be a second version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
And leading Mona Lisa scholars say the similarities in colours, which are being examined using infra-red technology, hold the key to determining if the Russian painting is in fact another da Vinci.
‘There are many indicators pointing to the Tuscan artistic genius,’ research coordinator Silvano Vinceti told ANSA.
‘But of course it’s only a hypothesis.’
There are numerous theories that da Vinci painted more than one version and there are conflicting dates about when the painting was commissioned and finished.