Mona Lisa Copy Discovered in Spain Shows Model's True Face

(NewsCore) - A second painting of the Mona Lisa, believed to have been created by one of Leonardo da Vinci's proteges while the model sat for the great artist, has been discovered in Madrid's Prado museum.

The painting, which is much clearer than the cracked and darkened masterpiece, was described as an "astonishing discovery" by the art world.

"This sensational find will transform our understanding of the world's most famous picture," the Art Newspaper reported Wednesday.

The work was apparently begun at the same time as the original -- making it the earliest copy of the masterpiece.

It was covered in black overpaint sometime in the 18th century, disguising the finer details of the work and leading curators to believe it was one of many inferior copies painted years after the great artist's death.

Last year the work was re-examined and the final layers of black overpaint were stripped away to reveal a much clearer image of the model than the original masterpiece, which has aged over the centuries.

"It gives a much more vivid impression of her enticing eyes and enigmatic smile," the Art Newspaper reported. "The replica gives us more detail of the spindles of the chair, the frill on the edge of the fabric on Lisa's chest and the semi-transparent veil around her left shoulder, arm and elbow."

The discovery has been accepted by experts at the Louvre -- where the original masterpiece hangs -- and at the Prado museum.

The Mona Lisa is believed to represent Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and is thought to have been painted between 1503 and 1506.

Read more: The Art Newspaper