Isleworth Mona Lisa

The Isleworth Mona Lisa is a painting generally attributed to the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci. It depicts the same subject as his Mona Lisa. The painting first came into public view in 1913 when the English connoisseur Hugh Blaker acquired it from a manor house in Somerset, where it was thought to have been hanging for over a century.[2]

Isleworth Mona Lisa
ArtistWorkshop of Leonardo da Vinci
YearUnknown[1]
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectLisa Gherardini
Dimensions84.5 cm × 64.5 cm (33.3 in × 25.4 in)
LocationPrivate collection, Switzerland

Historical, stylistic and scientific evidence continues to remain divisive. An independent 2015 academic journal article attributed the work to Leonardo on stylistic grounds,[3] but a 2018 journal found the work to not be by Leonardo, based on the use of convolutional neural networks.[4] Either way, scientific evidence is not universally considered decisive for authenticating works of art.[5][6] Ownership of the painting is disputed as well, as an anonymous "distinguished European family" has claimed that the painting's former owner had sold a 25% stake in the painting, but a lawyer stated that the claim was clearly without merit.[7]

Description
The Mona Lisa (1503–1516) by Leonardo da Vinci, of which the Isleworth Mona Lisa is generally believed to be a copy of

The work is widely believed to be a copy of the more famous Mona Lisa in the Louvre,[8][9][10][11] and there are many similarities between the two.[12] Both paintings depict a dark haired woman, Lisa Gherardini, who sits at an angle and is surrounded by the landscape behind her.[13] The work is 84.5 cm × 64.5 cm and slightly bigger than the original.[1] However, the Isleworth Mona Lisa is notable for various differences, such as the subject being noticeably younger,[14] having columns,[15] and being painted on canvas.[16]

Background

In 1913 English connoisseur Hugh Blaker spotted and acquired the painting from a nobleman's house in Somerset where it had been hanging for over a century.[2] The painting would eventually adopt its unofficial name of Isleworth Mona Lisa from Blaker's studio being in Isleworth, West London.[17] In a letter he wrote to his sister Jane, Blaker stated that he thought the work to be by Leonardo and therefore saw potential for making money out of his purchase.[18] With the approach of World War I Blaker sent the painting to his step-father, John Eyre, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for safekeeping in 1922.[19] Eyre also believed in its attribution and claimed that the painting was a earlier version of Leonardo's Mona Lisa at the Louvre.[20] Eyre then traveled throughout Italy consulting various scholars on the painting, many of whom authenticated some parts to Leonardo.[21] However, his efforts were not able to secure wide acceptance of the work's authenticity..[22] After Baker's death in 1936, the painting was passed to his sister, Jane who died in 1947, leaving the painting's whereabouts unknown.[23].

The work was eventually bought in 1962 by Henry F. Pulitzer, who took the attribution further than Eyre, arguing that it was Leonardo's only real portrait of Lisa Gherardini, implying the Louvre Mona Lisa to be a copy.[24] Pulitzer was known to have sold his house and many of his possessions to purchase the painting all while continuing to promote the painting throughout his lifetime, although he was never successful in achieving a wide attribution.[25] When Pulitzer died in 1979 his partner, Elizabeth Meyer, inherited the painting and after her death, the Isleworth Mona Lisa was sold to a group of Geneva-based investors in 2008.[26][27][28] On 27 September 2012, The Mona Lisa Foundation of Zurich officially unveiled the painting and simultaneously published at the same time presented the Foundation's research and arguments for the painting's authenticity.[23][29] Most modern leading scholars remain skeptical.[30][8][31]

Ownership

Ownership of the painting is disputed as an anonymous "distinguished European family" has claimed that the painting's former owner had sold a 25% stake in the painting, but a lawyer stated that the claim was clearly without merit.[7]

Authenticity
Raphael's drawing, based on the Mona Lisa

After its discovery in 1913 the painting's attribution to Leonardo was first suggested by its owner, Hugh Blaker, who believed it to be by Leonardo.[19] Blaker's stepfather, John Eyre, expanded on the theory in his 1915 publication,[32] claiming that it was the earlier version of the better known Louvre Mona Lisa.[33] Eyre again published another book in 1923,[34] which was the result of consultation of 10 experts, many of whom attributed sections of the painting to Leonardo.[21] Art historian Martin Kemp notes that "His little book of fifty-one pages is full of careful scholarship, and makes about as good a case as can be made".[35] However, Blaker and Eyre's efforts did not result in wide acceptance.[22]

When Henry Pulitzer purchased the painting in 1962, he immediately endorsed the attribution of Eyre, stating that the work was in fact, the only Mona Lisa done by Leonardo. This was noted in his book where he argued that Leonardo's contemporary Raphael made a sketch of this painting, probably from memory, after seeing it in Leonardo's studio in 1504. The Raphael sketch includes the two Greek columns that are not found in the Louvre's Mona Lisa, but are found in the Isleworth painting. Pulitzer presents a few pages of art expert testimonials in his book; some of these experts seemed to believe that Leonardo was the painter, others felt the artist was somebody who worked in Leonardo's studio, and still others suggested that other artists may have done it. He then presents laboratory evidence, such as light to dark ratios across the canvas and X-rays, that suggested the painting to be by Leonardo. However, specific detail on the manner in which these studies were carried out, and by whom, is not provided. He writes: "I have no intention of cluttering up this book with too many technicalities and wish to make this chapter brief". No independent reports on the painting are cited in his text; he uses the pronoun "we" to refer to the team that conducted the research. As his own Pulitzer Press then published these results, there is a lack of outside corroboration for his claims.

Since then, a number of experts have examined and studied the work. Between 2012 and 2013 a number of examinations and tests were carried out and a summary was reported by Reuters on 13 February 2013.[36] Alfonso Rubino found that the work matched Leonardo's geometry and believed it to be by his hand.[36] In 2013, Professor Atila Soares examined the painting in detail and published a book where he confirmed its authenticity as a genuine Leonardo.[37]

In October 2013, Jean Pierre Isbouts published his book The Mona Lisa Myth[38] examining the history and events behind the Louvre and Isleworth paintings and confirmed the latter's attribution to Leonardo.[39] A companion film was released in March 2014.[40] In April 2014, Albert Sauteur examined the perspective used to execute the Isleworth Mona Lisa and the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and concluded that Leonardo painted both works.[41] In July 2014 "The Mona Lisa Mystery" premiered on the PBS television station's series Secrets of the Dead. This documentary investigated, at length, the authenticity of the Isleworth painting.[42]

In 2015, an academic publication by professors Salvatore Lorusso and Andrea Natali provided an exhaustive analysis of Mona Lisa paintings and copies, and concluded that the Isleworth Mona Lisa was an original work by Leonardo.[43] In 2016 professors Asmus, Parfenov and Elford published the results of scientific examinations that established to their satisfaction that the same artist painted the face of both the Mona Lisa and the Isleworth Mona Lisa.[44][45]

Gérard Boudin de l'Arche published a comprehensive historical account in 2017, wherein he stated that Leonardo painted the Isleworth Mona Lisa before the Louvre Mona Lisa.[45]

See also

References
  1. Kemp 2018: Chapter 3: Looking at Lisa
  2. Ragai 2015, p. 162.
  3. Lorusso & Natali 2015, p. 80: "The subject is the same, but the paintings vary considerably, making them two works in their own right and not a copy of each other."
  4. Frank & Frank 2020, p. 9: "All successful models classified the Isleworth Mona Lisa as not painted by Leonardo... Nonetheless, in each case, the model that more strongly classified Seated Bacchus and the Isleworth Mona Lisa as not painted by Leonardo also classified the Madonna Litta as not by Leonardo. The subject is the same, but the paintings vary considerably, making them two works in their own right and not a copy of each other.
  5. Sooke 2015: "Moreover, Syson does not accept that scientific evidence can conclusively settle debates over the authenticity of pictures such as the Isleworth Mona Lisa. 'The bringing in of science – sometimes pseudo-science – is increasingly a feature of such claims,' he continues. 'Even if the science is good, it can never prove an attribution (though it can sometimes disprove it); it’s only ever one of several factors we’d use to assess the authenticity and authorship of a work of art.'"
  6. Kallir 2018: "While scientific testing and provenance are important, connoisseurship is the glue that binds everything together. Art authentication is not, and probably never will be, an exact science."
  7. Holland 2019.
  8. Isaacson 2017, p. 491: "Even as Leonardo was perfecting the Mona Lisa, his followers and some of his students were making copies, perhaps with an occasional helping hand from the master. Some are very good, including those known as the Verono Mona Lisa and the Isleworth Mona Lisa, prompting claims that they may have been painted wholly or mostly by Leonardo, though most academic experts are skeptical."
  9. Marani 2003, pp. 338–341: In Marini's checklist, which he describes as: "Listed here are all paintings considered autograph works of Leonardo and works attributed to other artists in which it is possible to identify Leonardo's hand" the painting does not appear.
  10. Zöllner 2019, pp. 210–251: In Zöllner's catalogue, that he describes as: "The following catalogue raisonné contains the cartoons and paintings by Leonardo da Vinci's own hand, a number of early copies of his lost paintings and cartoons, together with more contentious attributions, insofar as these are rationally justified" the painting does not appear.
  11. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2020: "Other copies of the Mona Lisa include the so-called Isleworth Mona Lisa, which some commentators asserted was Leonardo’s first version of the famed portrait. The claim was a controversial one, with several leading Leonardo scholars flatly denying it."
  12. Cohen 2018: "For the last four decades, a portrait of a woman closely resembling the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Mona Lisa has remained under lock and key in a Swiss vault."
  13. Sooke 2015.
  14. Sooke 2015: "Except this woman is obviously much younger than the subject of the Louvre painting."
  15. Cohen 2018: "She also appears flanked by columns that are absent from the artist’s renowned portrait."
  16. Ragai 2015, p. 164: "One important concern voiced by a large number of art historians and connoisseurs relating to the Isleworth Mona Lisa is that Leonardo never painted on canvas but generally painted on wood."
  17. Holland 2019: "Blaker moved the painting to his studio in Isleworth, a west London suburb after which it is now unofficially named."
  18. Hales 2017, p. 252: "'The Mona Lisa is perfectly beautiful...' Blaker wrote to his sister Jane. 'I think there is big money in it.'"
  19. Hales 2017, p. 252.
  20. Kemp 2018: It was Eyre who first formulated the idea that the Isleworth version preceded that in the Louvre...
  21. Hales 2017, p. 252: "Most agreed that Leonardo may have painted the face and hair while another artist or artists complete the throat, hands, background."
  22. Hales 2017, p. 252: "Despite these endorsements, all based on 'connoisseurship,' or subjective appraisal, Eyre and his son-in-law never succeeded in establishing the portrait as a genuine Leonardo."
  23. Kemp 2018.
  24. Ragai 2015, p. 163.
  25. Hales 2017, p. 253: "Pulitzer had to sell his grand house in Kensington, all of its furnishings, and many of its paintings... Although the art world never overcame its skepticism, Pulitzer remained a believer to the end.
  26. Kemp 2018: "The privately funded Zurich-based Mona Lisa foundation was created in 2010 with the intent of authenticating the painting and has continuously promoted the work."
  27. The Mona Lisa Foundation: "The purpose of the foundation is to investigate the evidence that Leonardo da Vinci painted two versions of the Mona Lisa portrait and to present the art history, scientific research and comparative studies of the earlier version of the portrait, historically referred to as the ‘Isleworth Mona Lisa’."
  28. Hales 2017, p. 253.
  29. Rosenbaum 2012.
  30. Kemp 2018: "The role-call of significant contemporary Leonardo specialists who openly and unequivocally supported the attribution in public was precisely zero. Alessandro Vezzosi, who spoke at the launch in Geneva, and Carlo Pedretti, the great Leonardo specialist, made encouraging but noncommittal statements about the picture being of high quality and worthy of further research."
  31. Sooke 2015: "Like Eyre and Pulitzer before them, the current owners of the Isleworth painting are convinced that it is in part by Leonardo. Yet, like Eyre and Pulitzer, they are struggling to convince leading scholars. As well as Kemp, other respected Leonardo experts including the German art historian Frank Zollner deny that there is any substance to their claims."
  32. Eyre 1915.
  33. Lorenzi 2012: "In 1915 his stepfather John R. Eyre, an art historian, published a book suggesting that Leonardo painted two versions of the Mona Lisa and claiming that at least the bust, the face and the hands of the Isleworth lady were a genuine work by Leonardo Da Vinci –- basically, a prequel to his famous portrait."
  34. Eyre 1923.
  35. Kemp 2018: Chapter 3: Looking at Lisa
  36. "New proof said found for "original" Mona Lisa –". Reuters.com. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  37. Soares, Atila (2013). A Jovem Mona Lisa. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Multifoco. ISBN 9788582733882.
  38. Edwards, Hilary (7 November 2013). "New Book by Fielding Faculty Member Jean-Pierre Isbouts, DLitt, Shatters the Myths of the 'Mona Lisa'". Fielding Graduate University News.
  39. Isbouts, Jean-Pierre; Heath-Brown, Christopher (2013). The Mona Lisa Myth. Santa Monica, California: Pantheon Press. ISBN 978-1492289494.
  40. The Mona Lisa Myth. IMDb. 2014.
  41. Sauteur, Albert (22 April 2014). "Albert Sauteur réinvente la perspective". Migros Magazine. Vol. 17. pp. 14–17.
  42. "The Mona Lisa Mystery". Secrets of the Dead. PBS. July 2014.
  43. Lorusso, Salvatore; Natali, Andrea (2015). "Mona Lisa: A comparative evaluation of the different versions and copies". Conservation Science. 15: 57–84. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  44. Asmus, John F.; Parfenov, Vadim; Elford, Jessie (28 November 2016). "Seeing double: Leonardo's Mona Lisa twin". Optical and Quantum Electronics. 48 (12): 555. doi:10.1007/s11082-016-0799-0.
  45. Boudin de l'Arche, Gerard (2017). A la recherche de Monna Lisa. Cannes, France: Edition de l'Omnibus. ISBN 9791095833017.

Sources
Books
  • Eyre, John (1923). The two Mona Lisas: which was Giacondo's picture?: ten direct, distinct, and decisive data in favour of the Isleworth version, and some recent Italian expert opinions on it. London: J.M. Ouseley & Son.
  • Marani, Pietro C. (2003). Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings (1st ed.). New York City, New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0810935815.
  • Pulitzer, Henry E. (1960). Where is the Mona Lisa?. London: The Pulitzer Press. ASIN B0027MR0A2.
  • Syson, Luke; Larry Keith; Arturo Galansino; Antoni Mazzotta; Scott Nethersole; Per Rumberg (2011). Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan (1st ed.). London, England: National Gallery. ISBN 978-1857094916.
  • Zöllner, Frank (2019). Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings and Drawings (Anniversary ed.). Cologne, Germany: Taschen.
Academic Journals
Articles
Web
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (18 July 2019). "Mona Lisa". Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Retrieved 10 June 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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