IN THE FLESH?

Leonardo da Vinci May Have Drawn a ‘Mona Lisa’ Nude

Curators say sketch, called “Monna Vanna,” is at least in part by Leonardo.

Experts say a nude sketch that resembles the woman in the Mona Lisa may have been drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. The Guardian reports the sketch, which has been housed at the Conde Museum near Paris since 1862, is known as the Monna Vanna. It has long been attributed to the da Vinci’s studio. Scientists at the Louvre have been examining the piece and, after months of testing, believe the drawing was at least partially created by the master himself. “The drawing has a quality in the way the face and hands are rendered that is truly remarkable. It is not a pale copy,” said curator Mathieu Deldicque. “We are looking at something which was worked on in parallel with the Mona Lisa at the end of Leonardo’s life. It is almost certainly a preparatory work for an oil painting.”