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| A visitor looks at a copy of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which will go up for auction on November 9, at the Artcurial auction house in Paris, France, November 5, 2021. REUTERS/Noemie Olive |
A faithful copy of Leonardo da Vinciโs Mona Lisa dating from more than 400 years ago will go under the hammer at a Paris auction on Tuesday, months after another reproduction of one of the worldโs most recognisable portraits sold for a record price.
Leonardoโs original, which French King Francois I bought from the painter in 1518, can be found in Parisโ Louvre museum and is not for sale.
But the copy that is on sale, dating from around 1600, is so similar to the original that it is likely that the artist had close access to Leonardoโs version, the Artcurial auction house said.
It estimates the copy will fetch 150,000-200,000 euros ($173,000-$230,000).
โMona Lisa is the most beautiful woman in painting,โ Artcurialโ auction house expert and auctioneer, Matthieu Fournier, said as the painting went on public display ahead of the sale. โEveryone wants to own a high-quality version of Mona Lisa.โ
Leonardo, he stressed โhad fans, because he invented a style. He had followers, imitatorsโ.
In June, a European collector bought another 17th century copy of Mona Lisa for 2.9 million euros, a record for a reproduction of the work, at an auction at Christieโs in Paris.
In 2017, Christieโs New York sold Leonardoโs โSalvator Mundiโ for a record $450 million.
