FROM THE COLLECTION OF WIM DELVOYE
Follower of Leonardo da Vinci, 17th Century
THE MONA LISA
Details & Cataloguing
Tableaux Dessins Sculptures 1300-1900
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Paris
Paris
Follower of Leonardo da Vinci, 17th Century
THE MONA LISA
Oil on canvas, unframed
83,5 x 59,5 cm; 32 7/8 by 23 3/4 in.
Read Condition Report
Read Condition Report
83,5 x 59,5 cm; 32 7/8 by 23 3/4 in.
Provenance
Comte H. de Dampierre, 30 rue de la Boétie, Paris (according to a stamp on the reverse of the stretcher);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Tajan, 24 March 2010, lot 1, where acquired by the present owner.
Anonymous sale, Paris, Tajan, 24 March 2010, lot 1, where acquired by the present owner.
Catalogue Note
This image, among the most recognizable in the world, finds its source in Leonardo da Vinci's iconic portrait in the Musée du Louvre, the Mona Lisa, thought to depict Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco Giocondo.1 That original, painted on a poplar panel, was a mature work by Leonardo, executed circa 1503 that represented the culmination of his artistic achievements. It went with him to France around 1517 and likely entered the collection of François I soon after. In the centuries to follow, while it was in the Royal Collection, many replicas of that painting were made, a testament to its timeless appeal.
Some copies, like the present work and a version in Baltimore, record the vestigial columns that were thought to have been removed from the original composition at an early stage.2 Some of the early copiests wanted to "complete" Leonardo's composition by introducing columns at the sides of the composition, since in the original, we can see two fragmentary columns framing the figure and forming a "window" looking out over the landscape. However, extensive technical examinations of the Louvre's panel and the paint along its edges have conclusively demonstrated that the painting was not cut down and therefore there were never columns along the side edges. The present canvas - which preserves the captivating impression, the soft atmospheric haze, and the enigmatic smile of Leonardo's model - is of a very high-quality and was likely painted during the seventeenth century.
A similar copy was recently sold, Sotheby's New York, 31 January 2019, lot 171 for $ 1.695.000.
1. Oil on poplar panel, 77 by 53 cm, musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. no. 779.
2. Oil on canvas, 79.3 by 63.5 cm, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, inv. no. 37.1158.
Suggested Lots
Tableaux Dessins Sculptures 1300-1900
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Paris
Paris
