Hunt begins for Mona Lisa model

FLORENCE: A team of researchers in Italy has begun a search for the tomb of a woman who may have been the model for Leonardo Da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa.

The team is using a special radar device at the convent in the city of Florence where it thinks the body of the woman, Lisa Gherardini, is buried.

It hopes to find skull fragments and to try to create a facial reconstruction.
The identity of the enigmatic Mona Lisa remains one of the great mysteries of the art world.

Most Expensive Paintings

Hundreds of thousands — even millions — of dollars are spent every year by art patrons eager to own the world’s most sought-after paintings.

Find out a little more about this shortlist of Picasso’s, Van Gogh’s and more works from famous artists who still command the highest prices, what makes these paintings so special, and why they’re worth so very much…

 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt ($135,000,000)

This record breaking sale was enabled by a court order by the Austrian government to return the painting to the Artist’s rightful heir. The entire dispute lasted over a year and was necessary to return the painting that was looted by the Nazis during World War II.

Skillfully painted in 1907 by the art nouveau master Gustav Klimt, the painting was purchased by Ronald S. Lauder, the cosmetics heir, in 2006.

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