A naked portrayal of the Mona Lisa, which was once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, forms one of the highlights of the biggest exhibition ever held on the Renaissance genius.
A naked portrayal of the Mona Lisa, which was once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, forms one of the highlights of the biggest exhibition ever held on the Renaissance genius.
The mysterious portrait of a semi-nude woman, looking straight at the viewer with an enigmatic smile and with her hands crossed, bears a remarkable resemblance to Leonardo’s world famous painting.
Hidden for almost a century within the panelled walls of a library, the portrait appears to have been inspired by the Mona Lisa, which hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris and was painted by the Italian master in the early 1500s.
It will form one of the centrepieces of a new exhibition at the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, near Florence, where Leonardo was born in 1452.
“The frontal look, the position of the hands, the spatial conception of the landscape, with columns at the sides, show a clear link with the Mona Lisa’s iconographic theme,” Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the museum, told Discovery News.
Chanel’s classic – and widely adored – fragrance, No.5 will be the subject of a fresh new makeover at the end of this month, when the brand launches Eau Première. The seductive, 90-year old scent, developed by Coco herself will undergo a reinvention that retains the best-loved notes of the original – neroli, jasmine, ylang ylang, amber and vetvier – but in a softer, younger and more modern incantation. £67, available from Chanel counters nationwide.
Marc Jacobs has brought back its beloved Splash Collection of fragrances for spring/summer 2009, including a couple of old favourites and a new addition. While the ever-popular Marc Jacobs Rain and Cucumber are making a welcome return, the sparkling Marc Jacobs Lemon is sure to be summer’s biggest hit. With sun-drenched citrus notes of hand-pressed Italian lemon blended with mandarin, honeysuckle, mint and Verbena, this is the perfectly fresh smell of the sunny season. £45, available from department stores nationwide.
Chanel will launch the newest in its Les Exclusifs de Chanel scent collection next month, a honey floral inspired by one of Coco Chanel’s faithful shades. The twelfth in the series of fragrances originally composed by Coco Chanel’s personal perfumer Ernest Beaux and reinvented for the modern day by Jacques Polge, Beige is a delicate balance of frangipani, lily, heliotrope, ylang-ylang and jasmine flowers mixed with a sweet honey accord. And despite its moniker, it’s far from ordinary – wear through summer for a subtle sensuality. £160, available from Chanel counters nationwide from July.