Da Vinci's "Earlier Mona Lisa" makes world debut in S'pore

A younger portrayal of Mona Lisa - believed to be painted by the great Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci - depicting his muse in the early twenties, made its world premiere here today.
The first public viewing of the "Earlier Mona Lisa" painting, which experts believe Da Vinci started working on in the early 16th century, 10 years ahead of the Louvre version, opened at the Arts House at the Old Parliament here.
The painting was discovered in 1913 in the Somerset home of a British aristocrat by an art collector and was dubbed "the Isleworth Mona Lisa" - owing to its close resemblance to the world famous and more familiar - "Louvre Mona Lisa".

The portrait, showing a woman in her early 20s, was initially rejected by the art experts as a later copy of the world famous painting. But in 2013, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich carried out a carbon-dating test and finally confirmed that it originally came from Da Vinci.
During the exhibition, visitors can view the earlier Mona Lisa and also embark on an interactive journey of art, The Straits Times reported.
Visitors will be given a tablet computer which showcases the masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and authentication process of the painting before they finally meet with the masterpiece in Singapore's Old Chambers of Parliament.

The exhibition will be on display from December 16 to February 11 next year, and after that, it is set to head to Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Australia.