Even though it’s perpetually surrounded by a throng of selfie-taking tourists, a trip to the Louvre isn’t complete without a stop in front of the Mona Lisa. But these days, what’s behind the famous painting is generating more interest than the enigmatic lady in it. That’s because a French scientist just held a press conference in Shanghai to announce that he’s discovered another portrait beneath the Mona Lisa.
According to BBC News, Pascal Cotte has spent the last decade using reflective light technology to uncover a second woman, who he thinks is a different sitter than the one we all know (though technically, we don’t — the identity of the Mona Lisa has never been entirely verified).
Cotte was granted access to the painting by the Louvre in 2004, and has been using a technique that he pioneered to look underneath the image at the layers beneath. While this isn’t the first time scientists have examined the famous work, Cotte claims that his method—which projects a series of lights onto the painting that are then measured by a camera—allows him to view more layers than previously possible.
Cotte’s claim has been met with a healthy dose of skepticism, particularly among da Vinci scholars who feel that more analysis of his findings must be made before they can be verified. So, is there more than one Mona Lisa? Only time will tell.
