Da Vinci's one-in-a-million Mona Lisa twin finally makes debut

Leonardo da Vinci's one-in-a-million identical twin to his iconic painting Mona Lisa has finally made debut after being unveiled in Singapore's Arts House.

Scientific tests have suggested that renowned painter started working on the 'Early Mona Lisa' in 1503, ten years before the one in the Louvre, the Independent reported.

The painting, which was acquired by an English nobleman in 1778, was rediscovered by art connoisseur Hugh Blaker in 1913, who brought the artwork back to his studio in Isleworth, south-west London to restore it.

The work, which shows a younger woman against a different backdrop from the more familiar version, changed hands several times before it was passed to an international consortium in 2008.

The painting was presented to the media in 2012 by the Mona Lisa Foundation, which had compiled 35 years of research and tests. It published more findings the following year, leading most da Vinci scholars to believe that the second Mona Lisa is indeed the Italian's work of art.