A copy of Mona Lisa housed in the Prado Museum was made in Leonardo's studio. At least this is the conclusion reached by the experts of the Spanish museum after restoring the work. Apparently, while the Florentine master was giving the finishing touches to his masterpiece, one of his disciples (probably Francesco Melzi) was doing the same on another panel.

The 'face wash' of the Prado's figure has returned the smile to the Mona Lisa's first replica. A little less enigmatic than its original, the Prado's copy had a hidden secret that restorers have just revealed: a landscape identical to the Louvre's original and a very similar underdrawing of Mona Lisa. In fact, the first drawings can be seen with infrared reflectography on both panels and seem to leave no room for doubt: they were done at the same time. 

The general idea is the Prado's painting is not only a simple copy, but a replica made at the same time. It's as if the Florentine genius wanted to give a special lesson to his disciple, allowing him to copy a master's work throughout the creative process. The apprentice followed his master step by step, so much that, in the end, they made two similar portraits. Except for one detail: the eyebrows in the Prado's figure. And, of course, the absence of the master's hand. Interestingly, the copy is better preserved than its original, that is the reason why this work is so important, because it will reveal new details of Louvre's Mona Lisa.

When this painting came to the Spanish museum, it was listed as an anonymous copy of Leonardo and in its data sheet was written that it was an oak panel, so the specialists automatically thought it to be by a Flemish author. However, a recent study made by Ana González Mozo has demostrated the panel was walnut, a very common material in Italy. Months later, Almudena Sánchez began the restoration work and started to peel the black overpaint of the painting. Then, she discovered the same blurred mountains could be seen in the original Mona Lisa.

This discovery has been made possible thanks, in part, to the Musée du Louvre, the institution asked for the work on loan for an exhibition. That was the starting point to study the Prado's portrait and restore it. The restoration works have not been completed yet, so the Mona Lisa's first copy will not be oficially presented again until a few weeks. It seems that the museum's holdings continue to surprise public and experts alike. Sol G. Moreno

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