As noted in a recent Los Angeles Times article, the Louvre has confirmed a report that began swirling around the art world early last month: the Mona Lisa is younger than we thought. The museum is officially changing the dates that the famous painting was thought to have been created from 1503-6 to 1503-19.
The discovery was made after the El Prado Museum in Madrid began an in-depth study of a copy of the Mona Lisa that was painted by one of Da Vinci’s students. The new research concludes that the Mona Lisa, Virgin and Child With St. Anne, and the Mona Lisa copy could have been created as late as 1519, the same year as Da Vinci’s death. Through the use of infrared technology, experts discovered that the copy and the original Mona Lisa had been painted on walnut and had a background of the same mountain range. This shared background landscape is based on a drawing which is said to have been created by Da Vinci between 1510-15.
The current exhibit at the Louvre, which permanently displays the original Mona Lisa, is centered around the newly restored The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. The copy of the Mona Lisa is also on display for this show that will run until June 25, 2012.
Tags: 2012 exhibits
