Boy apprentice featured in other paintings, erotic sketches
(NEWSER) - No wonder she has such a mysterious smile: the lady was a scamp. Mona Lisa isn't the portrait of a local merchant's wife, but was inspired instead by a beautiful boy apprentice who later became Leonardo da Vinci's lover, argues an art expert. Silvano Vinceti, the head of an Italian research team, believes the beloved painting was based on Gian Giacomo Caprotti. Several of da Vinci's works, including two paintings of St. John the Baptist and Angel Incarnate, feature Caprotti's effeminate face and curly hair, says Vinceti. They bear striking similarities to certain aspects of Mona Lisa's face, he argues. More»
