French art experts say a drawing may have been done by Leonardo da Vinci in preparation for his masterpiece, the Mona Lisa.
The charcoal sketch of a nude woman from the waist up, known as the Monna Vanna, was previously attributed to his students. The experts say several clues indicate da Vinci used the sketch to plan for the Mona Lisa.
They point to similar technique in the two pieces and the almost identical position of the arms. They say the sketch is almost the same size as the Mona Lisa, and small holes around the figure may have been used to trace its form onto a canvas.
(Mathieu Deldicque / Conde Museum curator)
"The drawing of the new Mona Lisa, or of the Monna Vanna, is preparatory drawing, a cartoon for the preparation of the painting in the panel."
But the experts say they need to do more research. They say some parts of the sketch were done by a right-handed person, though da Vinci was left-handed.
◆from the waist up 上半身
◆attributed to 作品を特定の作者のものだとする
◆clue 手がかり
◆preparatory 準備としての
◆cartoon下絵
