Speculation continues regarding the model for the Mona Lisa, which Leonardo painted in the early 16th century. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit The Louvre. Per the Wikimedia Foundation, the work is considered to be in the public domain in the United States.

Male model behind the Mona Lisa’s smile, expert claims

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Speculation continues regarding the model for the Mona Lisa, which Leonardo painted in the early 16th century. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Speculation continues regarding the model for the Mona Lisa, which Leonardo painted in the early 16th century. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

ROME (AP) – An researcher says the main influence and model for the Mona Lisa was a male apprentice of the artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salai, worked with Leonardo for years starting in 1490. Art historian Silvano Vinceti said Wednesday that several Leonardo works, including St. John the Baptist, were based on Salai and that similarities with the Mona Lisa’s nose and mouth were evident.

This is one of many theories surrounding the identity of the Mona Lisa, ranging from a self-portrait to a Florentine merchant’s wife.

It is not the first time Salai’s name has been mentioned as a possible model. Vinceti insists there were various sources of inspiration at various stages and that the painting is full of symbolic meanings.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-02-02-11 0845EST

 

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