Visitors stand in front of the painting "Mona Lisa" (La Joconde) by Leonardo Da Vinci at the Louvre museum in Paris as the museum reopens its doors to the public after more than 6 months of closure due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier - RC2VIN9PNVH4
Paris: According to the media, Christie’s Auction House in Paris has sold the painting of Mona Lisa, at ten times it’s estimate during an online auction. The reproduction is believed to have been painted in the 1600s, about 100 years after Da Vinci painted the real Mona Lisa, hanged in Louvre, Paris.
Leonardo da Vinci created his work on a wood panel, whereas the replica is painted on canvas.
The media reported that the copy has been called the ‘Hekking Mona Lisa’, after French art collector Raymond Hekking, who purchased it from an antique shop in the 1950s.
Hekking spent a lot of time and effort to prove that the work he acquired was the original Leonardo work. Pierre Etienne of the auction house said global art experts may have deemed the Hekking work not to be a genuine Leonardo, but the final bid set a record for a modern reproduction.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable and famous works of art in the world and is often copied and reinterpreted.