Speculations about Mona Lisa Speculations about Mona Lisa The 16th-century portrait Mona Lisa, or "La Gioconda" ("La Joconde"), painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci, has been the subject of a considerable deal of speculation. It has for a long time been argued that after Leonardo's death the painting was cut down by having part of the panel at both sides removed. Early copies depict columns on both sides of the figure. Only the edges of the bases can be seen in the original. However, some art historians, such as Martin Kemp, now argue that the painting has not been
Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte, who owned another of Leonardo's paintings. Facial features bear only vague resemblance, but landscape, compositional and technical details correspond to those of the "Mona Lisa" known worldwide today. A student and companion of Leonardo da Vinci known as Salaì painted one of the nude interpretations of "Mona Lisa" known, titled "Mona Vanna". Salai's version is thought by some to have been "based on" the nude sometimes attributed to Leonardo, which is considered a lost work. Discussion among experts exists as to whether Salai, known to have modeled for Leonardo, may in fact have been the sitter