Leonardo Da Vinci, Painting | featured news

An Italian researcher says the main influence and model for the "Mona Lisa" was a male apprentice of the artist Leonardo da Vinci....

The enigmatic smile remains a mystery, but French scientists say they have cracked a few secrets of the "Mona Lisa." French researchers studied seven of the Louvre Museum's Leonardo da Vinci paintings, including the "Mona Lisa," to analyze the master's use of successive ultrathin layers of paint and glaze - a technique that gave his works their dreamy quality.

A smudged fingerprint has convinced art experts that a painting thought to have dated back to the early 19th century is the work of revered Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It sold for $19,000 at the auction to respected New York art dealer Kate Ganz who kept it for 12 years before selling it on for a similar price in 2007. The work is now locked in a Swiss bank vault with an estimated value of more than $160 million.

The canvas of the Mona Lisa was undamaged after a Russian tourist hurled a terra cotta mug at the Da Vinci masterpiece last week.