ARTS
Masterpiece or junk? Isleworth Mona Lisa goes on display in Turin
Experts are divided over whether the painting is a superior Leonardo da Vinci original or an inferior copy
The Isleworth Mona Lisa shows a younger woman than the Louvre version and has columns in the background
ALAMY
The exhibiting in Italy of a painting dubbed the Isleworth Mona Lisa has rekindled a row over whether the work is an earlier, better version by Leonardo da Vinci of his masterpiece in the Louvre or an inferior copy by another artist.
“We have proved beyond reasonable doubt that Leonardo painted two Mona Lisas and this is the only candidate to be the first,” said Joel Feldman, the head of a Swiss foundation that promotes the Isleworth Mona Lisa on behalf of its private owners.
However, news of the exhibition in Turin brought a sharp response from Vittorio Sgarbi, Italy’s junior arts minister, who told The Times: “It’s junk, a wind-up, it lacks the soul of Leonardo and I don’t know why anyone believes it.”
