Did Leonardo da Vinci paint two Mona Lisas? Where are they?
Last Updated: 25.06.2025 00:00
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):
While overall similar, there are differences in the shape of the face, the background and other details.
Source: Chantilly, Musée Condé, France.
Then there are the ‘meza nuda’ paintings from his workshop, often referred to as Monna Vannas.
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:
For the one below, art experts suggest that it contains touches indicating that Leonardo contributed to it.
Another version of the above exists, attributed to Salaj:
Source: St Petersburg. Hermitage, Russia.
Source: Louvre, Paris, France.
Obviously, the original Mona Lisa also inspired some cheeky versions of her.