The World Premiere Exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s earlier ‘Mona Lisa’ closes amid widespread public acclaim and record visitors
Singapore, 12 February, 2015: ” ‘Amazing’, ‘, ‘Astounding’, ‘, ‘Phenomenal’, ‘Stunning’, ‘Breathtaking’, ‘Genius’ were some of the words from visitors upon seeing the original ‘Mona Lisa’ housed in its custom built bullet proof showcase in Singapore’s old Chambers of Parliament. Many simple responded to a written survey by stating: “the most beautiful painting I have ever seen“.
Leonardo da Vinci’s earlier ‘Mona Lisa’ exhibition closed in Singapore on February 11th, leaving behind scores of curious art lovers still waiting to catch their first, second or even third view of the painting. The tens of thousands who experienced the exhibition over its two month run praised its contemporary look, cutting edge technology and fascinating informative content. For those seven weeks, the mysteries of the Renaissance came to life for the public of Singapore and for a myriad of international visitors to the city – many of whom had flown in specially for rare opportunity to see the original ‘Mona Lisa’ in such an intimate environment.
The earlier ‘Mona Lisa’ was already identified in 1503, and again in 1584, as the earlier version of Leonardo’s iconic ‘Mona Lisa’ (which is housed in the Louvre Museum, Paris, France), but disappeared from the public eye until its appearance at public exhibition in Yeovil, England in 1856 – followed by its presence at a public auction in Somerset, England in 1858. The line of its provenance from that time until today is now fully recorded thanks to the work of The Mona Lisa Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organisation whose mission has now become to show this great masterpiece to the world.
The Foundation has developed an exciting multi-media exhibition to accompany the painting and fully explain all the history and details surrounding its discovery and the authentication process. It chose to unveil this masterpiece to the public in Singapore, thanks to warm invitations by the government. The worldwide tour of the exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci’s Earlier ‘Mona Lisa’” began in Singapore on December 15th, 2014 – where it opened with a magnificent Gala Premiere, attended by many VIPs and leading opinion makers, at The Arts House at the Old Parliament – an important and historic Singaporean building. This was the first time that this spectacular earlier version of the ‘Mona Lisa’, was seen in public since its attribution to the great Master, Leonardo Da Vinci.
“The subject of the exhibition, which is of incredible magnitude, was complex and challenging, indeed. We did so through unique and never before seen media such as a cutting-edge audio-visual tablet tour full of interviews, re-enactments and a series of interactive stations”, said Dr. Markus A. Frey, President of the Foundation. “We are delighted with the public response which was unanimously positive. A clear testament to this is that word-of-mouth recommendations led to daily visitors growing five-fold between the beginning and the end of the exhibition. In addition, it would appear that daily attendance was on average seven to ten times that of comparable exhibitions coming to the country.”
Prior to the exhibition, the painting had been subjected to criticism by some in the art world, Though not one expert who has seen the painting in person denies the attribution to Leonardo, a few who have never seen it – voiced opposition. The exhibition presented all known criticisms, including those of the vociferous Martin Kemp, together with answers by the majority of experts who believe the attribution to Leonardo is without doubt. A survey of all the evidence, historical, scientific, technological and comparative data, including all connoisseur opinions published to date, reveals that 100% of the experts who have seen the painting believe it is certainly or most likely painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Judging by a survey conducted of visitors to the exhibition – the public also overwhelmingly believes that the earlier ‘Mona Lisa’ could only be by the Master Leonardo da Vinci.