Making {Mona} Lisa like new (BBC)
28 March 2012 | By Anthony Ham
The Mona Lisa has a new twin.
In the process of restoring a painting that has been in Madrids Museo del Prado since 1819, conservators have discovered a near-exact copy of the famous portrait hidden beneath a black coat of overpaint. While there are many such copies in circulation, the Prados version is unique in that it was painted in Leonardo da Vincis studio by one of the master painters favourite pupils, and at the same time as the original. Standing in front of the work a day after its unveiling in Madrid, I could not help but wonder whether the copy surpasses the original: the youthful beauty and vigour of da Vincis most famous model shines through in a way that is obscured beneath the cracked varnish of the Louvres more famous version. The Prados Mona Lisa was reunited with the original in the Louvre on 13 March, and will return to Madrid later in 2012.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20120320-making-lisa-like-new