About |
CNN reported that a consortium purchased the so-called “Isleworth Mona Lisa” and changed the painting’s name to “Earlier Version Mona Lisa.” While some experts suggest the painting is a mere copy, a handful of art historians believe it to be an earlier, unfinished version by Leonardo da Vinci himself.
However, Caroline Cocciardi, the Author of “Leonardo’s Knots”, challenges the authenticity of the painting and claims she can prove the knot pattern found on the “Earlier Version Mona Lisa” is not by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci.
“We have several knot drawings done by Leonardo da Vinci in 1490, the year this so-called ‘Earlier Version Mona Lisa’ was supposedly painted. Leonardo was at the top of his game mixing artistic design with elaborate mathematical patterns. We have five Codex notebook pages by Leonardo that are standalone mathematical knot gems.”
Cocciardi adds, “Leonardo’s knots are his personal signature. No copyist has successfully captured the intricacies of the “Mona Lisa Knot”, which have been painstakingly and brilliantly executed. Whomever painted the knots on ‘The Earlier Mona Lisa’ was a journeyman at best and demonstrated no knowledge of mathematics.”
Should the new owners of the “Earlier Version” try to authenticate the painting without validating it with Da Vinci’s knot art, Cocciardi plans to seek knot mathematicians to disprove the work’s authenticity. An incomplete authentication of Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi” recently sold at auction for a record-breaking $450 million.
Leonardo’s Knots by author Caroline Cocciardi focuses on Leonardo da Vinci’s placement and use of mathematically-inspired knots throughout his art.