Chantilly, France – A French art expert revealed a charcoal sketch of a nude woman that he says was a preparatory drawing of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
The black and white drawing of a nude woman from waist up is known as the “Monna Vanna.” It was attributed to Leonardo’s studio suggesting a student produced the sketch and not Leonardo himself.
Preliminary tests at the Louvre museum suggest the sketch may be by Leonardo himself.
According to curator Mathieu Deldicque the signs include the paper the sketch was made on. It’s from the same period of the Mona Lisa, it’s from the same region of Italy, and the technique is similar to the technique of the Mona Lisa.
The Mona Lisa is regarded as the world’s most valuable artwork.
Leonardo lived from 1452 to 1519 and was one of the finest artists of the Italian renaissance.
The charcoal portrait is part of a collection at the Conde Museum at the palace of Chantilly, north of Paris. The portrait shows the woman with a similar pose to the Mona Lisa but her body is turned more to the side and her head is turned further over her left shoulder. Her hands are very similar to the hands in the Mona Lisa.
More tests will be performed to try to determine if it’s authentic.
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