A year before this, in 1504, the artist Raphael is reported to have paid a visit to Leonardo’s studio in Florence where he made a sketch of the painting. This sketch depicts Mona Lisa sitting between two ornate Grecian columns, which do not appear in the painting as it can be seen today, hanging in the Louvre.
As Mona Lisa del Giocondo was born in 1479, she would have been about twenty-one when Leonardo started to paint her. However, as most experts agree, the lady in the portrait appears to be older by at least ten years, perhaps even fifteen. So, what can have happened: did Leonardo later paint out the columns and then make his subject appear rather older, or – extraordinary as this may sound – could the French have the wrong painting?
Important evidence can be found in the archives of
