The Mona Lisa Was Reexamined—Scientists Say a Hidden Portrait Lies Beneath

[00:00:00]French [music] scientist Pascal Kot says there is a hidden painting behind the Leonardo da Vinci [music] masterpiece.

[00:00:07]After 10 years of analyzing the painting has no traces of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile.

[00:00:14]>> For more than 500 years, the Mona Lisa has fascinated the world with her mysterious smile and countless secrets.

[00:00:22]But what if [music] the painting we know today isn't the whole story? After a new scientific examination, researchers believe they may have found evidence of a hidden portrait beneath Leonardo da Vinci's famous masterpiece.

[00:00:36]>> He claims he has uncovered three paintings beneath Mona Lisa, each [music] showing a different woman.

[00:00:43]>> Could an earlier version of the Mona Lisa still be hiding under the paint? Or is there another explanation? Join us in this video as we unveil the details. The discovery has reignited one of art history's greatest mysteries, and the evidence is more surprising than you might think. A discovery hidden beneath a masterpiece. In 2004, the louver gave French scientist Pascal Kot a rare opportunity that very few people have ever received. He was granted special access to the Mona Lisa so he could examine the painting [music] in ways that had never been possible before.

[00:01:18]What began as a scientific study soon turned into a years'slong investigation that would eventually challenge one of the biggest assumptions in art history.

[00:01:27]For more than a decade, Cot used a powerful multisspectral camera to shine intense light across the surface of the painting. By carefully measuring how the light reflected from each layer of paint, he created detailed maps showing what lay beneath the visible image.

[00:01:43]Using a process he developed himself known as layer amplification method, he digitally reconstructed the hidden layers buried under Leonardo da Vinci's famous brush strokes. When Cot finally revealed his findings, the art world was stunned. According to his research, another portrait lies beneath the Mona Lisa we see today. This hidden woman appears seated in a similar pose, but looks off to one side instead of directly at the viewer. Unlike the familiar smile that has fascinated [music] people for centuries, this figure shows no smile at all. Cot believes this hidden portrait is the real Mona Lisa, challenging the long-held belief that Leonardo painted Lisa Gerardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant. Most historians agree that Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa through sometime between 1503 and 1517 while working in Florence before taking the painting with him to France. Beyond those basic facts, however, [music] the story behind the masterpiece has always remained uncertain. Some researchers believe Leonardo painted more than one version, while others have suggested entirely different models, including Princess Isabella of Naples, [music] an unknown noble woman. Leonardo's own mother or even one of his male assistants. At a press conference in Shanghai, Cot presented even more surprising [music] discoveries. Besides the hidden seated woman, his analysis revealed the faint outline of another figure with a larger head, bigger hands, a wider nose, and smaller lips. He also reported finding what appeared to be a Madonna-like image wearing a pearl headdress beneath the painting's visible layers. Speaking about his work, Cot said the discoveries completely change how we should understand Leonardo's masterpiece. He explained that after reconstructing Lisa Gerardini's image, he realized she looked nothing like the woman displayed in the Mona Lisa today. In his view, they are simply not the same person. The Louver has chosen not to comment publicly on these claims, but many art experts quickly weighed in. Martin Kemp, a former art history professor at the University of Oxford, praised Cote's advanced imaging techniques, but rejected the conclusion that another portrait exists beneath the painting.

[00:03:58]Kemp remains convinced that the Mona Lisa truly depicts Lisa Gerardini.

[00:04:03]Others see things differently. [music] Art historian Andrew Graham Dixon, whose documentary explored Cota's research, believes the findings deserve serious attention. Speaking to the BBC, he called the discovery one of the greatest art stories of the century. He even suggested that museums might one day have to reconsider the painting's very identity. The Mona Lisa has inspired mysteries for centuries. Some once argued that the painting had been trimmed after Leonardo's death, removing columns that originally framed the figure, although many historians now believe later artists simply added those columns in copies. Other mysteries remain. The Isleworth Mona Lisa, discovered before World War I, shows another young woman with a similar smile, while at least eight known nude versions have fueled speculation that they were copied from a lost original by Leonardo himself. Whether any of these theories are true remains one of art history's greatest unanswered questions.

[00:05:03]But if that's true, who is the woman everyone actually sees? Let's find out.

[00:05:09]Who is the woman in the Mona Lisa? If Pascal Cot's discovery is correct, [music] it raises an even bigger question. If the famous woman in the Mona Lisa is not Lisa del Gioondo, then who is she? Surprisingly, historians have been asking that very question for hundreds of years, and the answer has never been completely settled. The name Mona Lisa itself is based on the long-standing belief that the painting shows Lisa Delgioondo, although no one can say with complete certainty that this is really her. Much of this belief comes from the writings of Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari. In his biography of Leonardo da Vinci, published in 1550, he wrote that Leonardo painted a portrait of Lisa, the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco Delgioondo. The title also has an interesting history. In Italian, mona is a respectful way of addressing a woman, similar to saying my lady or madam. Over time, the word was shortened, eventually giving us the familiar title Mona Lisa. In Italy, however, the painting is more accurately called Mona Lisa, while another famous name for it is laioonda. That title is a clever play on Lisa's married surname, Gioondo, while also meaning cheerful or joyful. According to the traditional story, Lisa Deljondo came from the respected Gerardini family of Florence and Tuskanyany. Historians believe her husband may have commissioned the portrait to celebrate their family's new home and the birth of their second son, Andrea. If that story is true, the painting began as a personal family portrait before becoming one of the world's greatest masterpieces. Even so, the evidence is not as straightforward as many people assume. Basari wrote his account more than 30 years after Leonardo's death, meaning he was relying on information gathered long after the painting was created. Another clue comes from Leonardo's assistant, Salaii. When he died in 1524, records listed a painting called Lajio among the works he inherited from Leonardo, adding another piece to the puzzle. Then in 2005, researchers uncovered an exciting discovery. A scholar at H Highleberg University found a handwritten note in the margin of an old book printed in 1477. The note dated October 1503 was written by Agugustino Vaspuchcci, a man who lived during Leonardo's lifetime. In it, Vaspuchcci compared Leonardo to the famous Greek painter Appelis, and mentioned that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa Delgioondo at that very time. Many experts saw this as one of the strongest pieces of evidence supporting the traditional story. A louver representative even stated that Leonardo was indeed painting a portrait of Lisa del Gioondo in 1503. However, he also admitted there is still no absolute proof that this portrait is the very same Mona Lisa displayed in the Loura today. That uncertainty has kept countless other theories alive. While modern scholars generally agree that Lisa del Gioondo is still the most likely subject, Isabella Dest is often considered the strongest alternative.

[00:08:29]Over the years, researchers have also suggested Isabella of Aragon, Cecilia Galerani, Hustanza Davalos, Pacifica Brandano, Isabella Gualanda, Katarina Forza, Bianca Jovanna Forza, Leonardo's assistant, Salai, and even Leonardo himself. Perhaps the most unusual theory came from psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

[00:08:55]He believed Leonardo unconsciously borrowed his mother's warm approving smile and gave it to the Mona Lisa as well as several of his other famous paintings. Whether that idea is true or not, it shows just how many mysteries continue to surround the world's most famous [music] portrait. If her identity remains uncertain, what other secrets does the painting hide? Keep watching to find out. The hidden details that keep the mystery alive. Even after centuries of study, the Mona Lisa continues to reveal details that leave experts [music] both fascinated and divided.

[00:09:31]Every part of the painting, from the woman's expression to the distant landscape behind her, has inspired new questions and countless theories. At first glance, the woman closely resembles many Renaissance paintings of the Virgin Mary, who was widely seen as the perfect example of womanhood during Leonardo's time. She sits upright in a small armchair with her hands gently folded, giving her a calm and dignified appearance. Her eyes seem to follow whoever looks at her, making the portrait feel unusually alive. Leonardo achieved this effect using his famous painting technique known as spumato, where colors and shadows blend so softly that there are no harsh outlines. This delicate blending creates uncertainty, especially around the corners of her mouth and eyes, making her famous smile seem to appear and disappear depending on how you look at it. Her pose was not entirely new. Similar threearter portraits had already appeared in works by other Renaissance artists. While certain details, including the columns that once framed the figure, reflected influences from Flemish portrait painting. Leonardo also introduced something that was still uncommon in Italian portraiture. Instead of placing his subject against a plain background, he seated her before an imaginary landscape stretching far into the distance. Behind her lies a breathtaking world of winding roads, distant bridges, rivers, rocky cliffs, and snow-covered mountains. Tiny signs of human life appear here and there, but nature dominates the scene. Leonardo carefully placed the horizon at the same level as the woman's eyes instead of near her shoulders, visually connecting her with the landscape and making both seem part of the same mystery. [music] Even the bridge in the background has become the subject of debate. Some researchers believe it is the ancient fourarchched Romeito de Laterina Bridge that once crossed the Arno River near Aretso.

[00:11:26]Others argue it could represent one of several similar bridges from northern Italy. Like many parts of the painting, no single answer has convinced everyone.

[00:11:35]Another mystery involves the woman's face itself. Today, she appears to have no eyebrows or eyelashes. Yet, early writer Giorgio Vasari clearly described her eyebrows in detail. In 2007, Pascal Cote's ultra highresolution scans suggested that Leonardo originally painted both eyebrows and eyelashes.

[00:11:55][music] According to Cot, these delicate features gradually disappeared over centuries, likely because repeated cleaning removed the thin layers of paint. His scans also uncovered something equally surprising. They revealed that Leonardo changed the painting [music] several times while he worked on it. The shape of the face shifted slightly. The direction of the woman's gaze was adjusted, and one hidden layer even showed her wearing decorative hairpins and a pearl-covered headdress that was later painted over.

[00:12:25]The woman's appearance has also fueled endless discussion. Leonardo may have painted her exactly as she looked, even though many modern viewers do not consider her exceptionally beautiful by either Renaissance or today's standards.

[00:12:39]Instead, her quiet expression and lielike presence may have been what fascinated Leonardo most. The landscape has inspired just as much debate.

[00:12:48][music] Some scholars have argued that its style shows the influence of traditional Chinese landscape painting, although many historians remain unconvinced because strong evidence has never been found. Others have searched for real locations hidden within the scenery. In 2008, researchers suggested that the background closely matches parts of Italy's Monteeltro region. More recently, geologist and art historian Anne Pito Russo proposed that several landscape features closely resemble the area around Leco on the shores of Lake Ko. Scientists have even studied the famous smile itself. In 2003, Harvard professor Margaret Livingston explained that the smile seems to change because of the way human vision works. When you look directly at the mouth, the smile becomes less noticeable. But when you focus elsewhere, your peripheral vision detects the soft shadows around her lips, making the smile suddenly seem much more alive. It is one more reason why the Mona Lisa continues to captivate the world, no matter how many times people believe they have finally solved its secrets. But how did this mysterious masterpiece survive centuries almost completely unchanged? Stay tuned to find out. the long journey of Leonardo's greatest masterpiece. While the identity of the woman in the Mona Lisa continues to spark debate, one thing has remained remarkably consistent. Among all of Leonardo da Vinci's surviving paintings, the Mona Lisa is the only portrait whose authenticity has never been seriously questioned. Unlike many Renaissance masterpieces that have faced endless disputes over who actually painted them, experts have always agreed that this famous work truly came from Leonardo's own hand. Even so, exactly when he painted it remains far less certain.

[00:14:36]Most historians agree that Leonardo had already begun working on a portrait of Lisa Delgioondo by October 1503. Many believe he started the painting in Florence sometime in 1503 or 1504. The Loura generally dates the masterpiece between 1503 and 1506, but not everyone agrees. Some art historians believe the painting reflects Leonardo's later artistic style and may not have reached its present form until after 1513.

[00:15:07]Others argue that historical records point to those later years as the main period when Leonardo completed much of the work. Part of the confusion comes from Leonardo himself. According to Renaissance writer Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo spent four years working on the portrait before leaving it unfinished.

[00:15:24]That description fits Leonardo's well-known habit of constantly revisiting his paintings instead of declaring them complete. In 1516, Leonardo accepted an invitation from King Francis I of France and moved to the close lucay manor near the royal chateau Dumbois. Most scholars believe he took the Mona Lisa with him and continued refining it after arriving in France. Art historian Carmen C. Bambach believes Leonardo kept making adjustments until around 1516 or 1517.

[00:15:57]By that time, however, Leonardo's right hand had become partially paralyzed.

[00:16:01]Some experts think this physical condition explains why he never truly finished the painting, even after years of careful work. Another mystery appeared through the work of another famous artist. Around 1505, Raphael created a pen and ink sketch based on Leonardo's portrait. Unlike the Mona Lisa hanging in the Loura, today Raphael's drawing clearly shows large columns standing on both sides of the seated woman. Several later copies of the painting also include these columns.

[00:16:30]For many years, this led historians to believe that the original painting had been trimmed, cutting away part of the artwork. But modern scientific examinations changed that idea. Careful testing completed in 2004 confirmed that the painting's edges had never been cut.

[00:16:46]Instead, many experts now believe Raphael and other artists were copying a different version of the portrait [music] or perhaps another closely related work by Leonardo. The story becomes even more complicated because historical records do not always agree.

[00:17:02]One account from a visitor in 1517 claimed that Leonardo painted the portrait for Giuliano de Medici sometime between 1513 and 1516. Yet Georgio Vasari insisted the painting had originally been commissioned by Francesco Delgioondo for his wife Lisa.

[00:17:20]These conflicting accounts have led some scholars to suggest that Leonardo actually painted two versions of the Mona Lisa. According to this theory, the first portrait was commissioned around 1503 by Franchesco Delgioondo, but remained unfinished and later stayed with Leonardo's assistant, [music] Salai. A second version may have been ordered years later by Giuliano de Medici before eventually making its way into the collection of King Francis I.

[00:17:47]Other historians reject this theory completely, believing there was only one authentic Mona Lisa whose history simply became confused over time. Whatever the truth may be, the painting continued its remarkable journey. During the 16th century, a protective layer of varnish was applied to its surface. It was later displayed at the Palace of Fontenblau [music] before King Louis I 14th moved it to the Palace of Versailles.

[00:18:12]Following the French Revolution, the masterpiece found its permanent home at the Louvre in 1797, where millions of visitors continue to stand before it, still searching for answers, hidden within Leonardo's greatest mystery. But one shocking event changed the Mona Lisa's story forever. What happened?

[00:18:30]Let's find out. The theft that made the Mona Lisa a global legend. Long before scientists began searching beneath the Mona Lisa's surface, another event completely changed the paintings's place in history. Ironically, it wasn't a groundbreaking discovery or an art exhibition that made the portrait world famous. It was a theft. If you had been standing outside the louver in Paris on the morning of August 21st, 1911, you might have noticed three men quietly leaving the museum. On an ordinary Monday morning, they would have stood out. Paris was known for its lively Sunday nights, and many people were still recovering from the weekend. But these three men weren't returning home from a celebration. They had spent the entire night hiding inside a storage closet in the Louvre. Before sunrise, while the museum remained closed, they stepped out of their hiding place and carefully removed the Mona Lisa from the wall. The painting, along with its frame and heavy protective glass, weighed around 200 lb. They stripped away the frame, wrapped the wooden panel in a blanket, and slipped out unnoticed. From there, they hurried to the Korsay train station and boarded the 747 morning train carrying one of the greatest treasures in art history. At the time, however, almost no one realized how important that treasure would become.

[00:19:51]Although Leonardo da Vinci had painted the Mona Lisa centuries earlier, it was far from being the world's most famous [music] painting. Art critics had only begun praising it as a Renaissance masterpiece during the 1860s, [music] and that admiration was largely limited to artists, historians, and intellectuals. Inside the Louvre, it wasn't even considered the museum's biggest attraction. Even more surprising, the theft wasn't discovered immediately. Nearly 28 hours passed before anyone noticed the painting was gone. The first person to raise the alarm wasn't a museum employee, but a stilllife painter who regularly set up his easel inside the gallery. He wanted to paint the room, but realized the Mona Lisa was missing. At first, he assumed museum photographers had temporarily removed it since many artworks were being taken to the roof for photographs because early cameras required strong natural light. Eventually, the artist convinced a museum guard to check with the photographers. The guards soon returned with shocking news. They didn't have the painting. In that instant, everything changed. The louver announced the theft and newspapers around the world exploded with headlines about the missing masterpiece. What had once been simply another admired Renaissance painting suddenly became an international obsession. The disappearance embarrassed France and sparked one of the biggest criminal investigations of its time. Rumors spread almost immediately. Some people believed wealthy American collectors had secretly arranged the theft to add the masterpiece to a private collection.

[00:21:27]Businessman JP Morgan was even mentioned as a possible suspect. At another point, the young Pablo Picasso found himself questioned by police as political tensions between France and Germany continued to rise before the First World War. Others even claimed that Kaiser Wilhelm II had secretly ordered the theft. When the Louvra finally reopened after a week-l long closure, enormous crowds rushed through its doors. Among the visitors was writer France Kafka.

[00:21:56]But people weren't coming to admire the Mona Lisa. They came to stare at the empty space where it had once hung. The bare wall became a symbol of national embarrassment and one of the most talked about sites in Paris. Meanwhile, the thieves had disappeared without a trace.

[00:22:13]The group consisted of three Italians, brothers Vincenzo and Mikle Lanchelotti along with their leader Vincenzo Perujia. Ironically, [music] Peruja had previously worked at the Louvre installing the very protective glass cases designed to keep valuable paintings safe. That inside knowledge made the theft much easier to carry out.

[00:22:34]Peruja hoped to sell the stolen masterpiece, but the enormous publicity quickly made that impossible. Within days, newspapers were offering rewards and the entire world was watching.

[00:22:46]Afraid that trying to sell the painting would lead straight to his arrest, Peruja hid it inside a false bottom trunk in his small Paris boarding house where it remained untouched for more than 2 years. Finally, after 28 months, he traveled to Florence and contacted an art dealer hoping to sell the painting.

[00:23:05]The dealer immediately became suspicious and asked the director of a respected Italian gallery to examine it. When they checked the back of the wooden panel, an official louver stamp confirmed that it was the genuine Mona Lisa. Rather than paying Peruja, they told him to leave the painting with them while they arranged his reward. Believing everything was going according to plan, he returned home. Less than an hour later, police officers knocked on his door and arrested him. During his trial, Peruja insisted he had acted out of patriotism. He claimed Napoleon had stolen the Mona Lisa from Italy and that he simply wanted to return it to its rightful home. History tells a different story since Leonardo himself had taken the painting to France. But Perujia's explanation won him considerable sympathy in Italy. The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre with enormous public celebration, while Peruja received a surprisingly light sentence of only 8 months in prison. Yet only days after the trial ended, Europe was pulled [music] into the First World War.

[00:24:11]Overnight, headlines about a stolen painting disappeared, replaced by news of a conflict that would change the world forever. Still, the theft had already accomplished something remarkable. It transformed the Mona Lisa from a respected Renaissance portrait into the most famous painting on Earth.

[00:24:30]After everything it survived, how does the Mona Lisa still remain intact? Keep watching to find out how the Mona Lisa has survived five centuries. It is remarkable that a painting created more than 500 years ago still exists in such good condition. Considering everything the Mona Lisa has been through, centuries of travel, changing environments, theft, public attention, and even attacks, it is almost a miracle that it has survived at it all. Yet, thanks to generations of careful conservation, Leonardo's masterpiece continues to captivate millions of visitors every year. In 1952, an international commission examined the painting and concluded that it was in remarkably good condition for its age.

[00:25:16]One reason for this is that the Mona Lisa has never undergone a full restoration. Instead, experts have chosen to preserve as much of Leonardo's original work as possible, making only limited repairs whenever they became necessary. That doesn't mean the painting has escaped damage. Over the centuries, layers of protective varnish naturally darkened, gradually changing the way the artwork looked. By the late 16th century, the varnish had already begun to yellow. Then in 1809, an aggressive cleaning and fresh coat of varnish accidentally removed some of the upper paint layers, especially around the woman's face, leaving certain features looking slightly lighter than Leonardo originally [music] intended.

[00:26:00]Even so, later experts praised earlier restorers for showing remarkable restraint compared with the restoration methods commonly used during those times. The wooden panel itself has presented another challenge. Unlike canvas, wood naturally expands and contracts as humidity changes. At some point after the painting was removed from its original frame, the popppler panel began to warp and a crack slowly formed near the top, extending toward the woman's hairline. To stop the damage from spreading, conservators inserted two carefully shaped walnut braces into the back of the panel sometime between the mid 18th and early 19th centuries.

[00:26:40]The repair worked well and stabilized the crack for many years. Later, when one of those braces came loose, conservators reinforced the damaged area with cloth and carefully secured it again. Today, the Mona Lisa is protected inside one of the safest display cases in the world. It sits behind bulletproof glass in a tightly controlled environment where both temperature and humidity remain almost perfectly stable.

[00:27:06]During preparations for Leonardo's 500th birthday celebrations in 1951, conservators placed the painting inside a speciallydesed flexible oak frame with beach cross pieces. The frame gently supports the panel while allowing small natural movements, reducing the risk of further warping. Years later, the beach supports were replaced after insects damaged the wood. Maple cross pieces took their place before eventually being replaced with sycamore during a major conservation study in 2004 and 2005. An additional metal support was also added so experts could precisely monitor even the smallest changes in the panel over time. The decorative frame surrounding the Mona Lisa has changed several times throughout history as well. In 1909, art collector Contest Debehagi donated the beautiful Renaissance style frame that still surrounds the masterpiece today.

[00:28:03]Although the edges of the wooden panel were trimmed in the distant past so it could fit [music] different frames, experts have confirmed that none of Leonardo's original painted image was lost. Over the years, the painting has also received a series of careful conservation treatments. The first major restoration took place in 1809 when the surface was cleaned, damaged colors were touched up, and a fresh layer of varnish was applied. Additional repairs followed in 1906 to disguise damage caused by the panel's crack. After the painting was recovered from its famous theft in 1913, conservators once again cleaned the surface and carefully repaired several scratches using watercolor. More touch-ups followed after the vandalism attacks of 1956 when damage to the left elbow required delicate restoration.

[00:28:54]Conservators have even had to protect the painting from insects. In 1977, they discovered insect activity inside the back of the wooden panel caused by older support pieces. The infestation was treated immediately and checked again several years later to ensure the problem had been completely eliminated.

[00:29:13]A major milestone came in April 2005 when the Mona Lisa was moved into a newly designed gallery inside the louver. There it was placed inside a customuilt climate controlled display behind bulletproof glass. Modern LED lighting was installed to illuminate the painting without exposing it to harmful ultraviolet or infrared rays that could slowly damage the delicate pigments. In 2013, an even more advanced lighting system was introduced, allowing visitors to see the masterpiece more clearly while giving it even greater protection.

[00:29:48]Today, the Mona Lisa remains the louver's biggest attraction, drawing more than 10 million visitors every year. To handle the enormous crowds, the museum introduced a new queuing system in 2019 that gives visitors a smoother path to the gallery. Although each group still has only about 30 seconds to stand before the famous portrait. Ironically, when the louver hosted the largest exhibition ever dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci during the 500th anniversary of his death, the Mona Lisa was not included. The museum decided it was simply too popular to remove from public display, even for such a historic event.

[00:30:28]The story is still evolving. In 2024, the Louver announced plans to move the painting into its own dedicated gallery.

[00:30:35]Once completed, visitors will be able to reach the Mona Lisa more easily, [music] reducing long waiting times while giving Leonardo's greatest masterpiece the special home it has long deserved. What do you think about this discovery? Let us know in the comments section below.

[00:30:51]In the end, the Mona Lisa may still be keeping its greatest secret hidden beneath the surface. Whether scientists have uncovered the truth or simply deepened the mystery, one thing is certain. This masterpiece continues to surprise the [music] world. If you enjoyed this video, like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more incredible discoveries, hidden histories, and mysteries waiting to be uncovered.