Did Leonardo da Vinci paint two Mona Lisas? Where are they?
11.06.2025 09:13
Donna Nuda:
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.
La Joconde nue:
What song are you listening to right now? What does it mean to you?
Another version of the above exists, attributed to Salaj:
Obviously, the original Mona Lisa also inspired some cheeky versions of her.
Source: Louvre, Paris, France.
Why can’t my wife just accept the fact that I’m going to cheat?
Then there are the ‘meza nuda’ paintings from his workshop, often referred to as Monna Vannas.
While overall similar, there are differences in the shape of the face, the background and other details.
Source: Chantilly, Musée Condé, France.
Why is every human messed up in some way?
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):
Source: St Petersburg. Hermitage, Russia.
For the one below, art experts suggest that it contains touches indicating that Leonardo contributed to it.
Apple brings Apple Intelligence to the iPhone screen at WWDC 2025 - TechCrunch