da Vinci painting or not, "Mona Lisa" look-alike draws interest

PORTLAND, Maine --Is the painting an authentic da Vinci? Or is it a copy?

The answer may never be known about a work called "La Gioconda" that now hangs in the Portland Museum of Art. The painting, which bears a striking resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci's famous "Mona Lisa," was put on display last month the day before "The Da Vinci Code" movie began showing at theaters.

In the weeks since, the painting has created a buzz among the curious. Museum officials think the painting, along with record rains, helped fuel a new attendance record for May; the crowds are on a record-setting pace for June, as well.

It was no coincidence that the museum put out the painting at the same time the movie came out, said Carrie Haslett, the museum's curator of modern art. The movie, and the best-selling book it was based on, have created an interest not just in da Vinci's works, but in the history of da Vinci's time 500 years ago.

"It's great to put it out because people are thinking about it," Haslett said. "They're reading the book. They're watching the movie."

"La Gioconda" was given to the museum in 1983 by the late Henry Reichhold, a Maine summer resident with a home on Prout's Neck in Scarborough.

It was put on display when it was given to the museum, and again in early 2004 to capitalize on the popularity of "The Da Vinci Code," which was published in 2003. The novel is about a murder inside the Louvre museum in Paris and how clues in da Vinci's paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery that could shake the foundations of Christianity.

For the most part, though, the museum has kept "La Gioconda" in storage because it doesn't fit in with the museum's other holdings, which are mostly from 1800 to 1950 as well as some contemporary American art.

Shortly after getting the painting, the museum had it analyzed at the Straus Center for Conservation at Harvard University.

There, conservators determined that it was done before 1510 -- the "Mona Lisa" is thought to have been created between 1503 and 1506 or so -- but were unable to confirm or disprove whether da Vinci had a hand in it.

Some experts suggested that da Vinci painted it as a preparatory study for the "Mona Lisa," while others said it was more likely painted by a da Vinci follower after the "Mona Lisa" was done, the museum says. There was evidence of left-handed brush strokes -- da Vinci was a lefty -- but it will probably never be positively known who painted it.

"La Gioconda" is slightly smaller than the "Mona Lisa," it has less background detail, the woman's position is slightly different and her smile is less developed than the enigmatic smile on the original. But the woman is the same as in the "Mona Lisa," and an untrained eye could be forgiven for mistaking the two paintings. The "Mona Lisa," which is also called "La Gioconda," hangs in the Louvre.

One afternoon this week, six people stood in front of "La Gioconda," examining it closely.

Evelyn Stroud of Aurora, Ohio, was visiting with her daughter, who lives in New Orleans. She had heard read about the painting and considered it a bonus in her visit to the museum.

She liked the painting, and called the expression on the woman's face "more of a smirk" than a smile.

"But my coming here had nothing to with 'The Da Vinci Code,'" she said. "I haven't seen it or read it, and I don't intend to."

Vivian Fox and Dolores Schroder of River Head, N.Y., were intrigued by the painting as well.

"I don't think he (da Vinci) did that one," Fox said.

"It looks like it wasn't finished, like somebody painted it most of the way and then put it away," Schroder said.

------

On the Net:

Portland Museum of Art: http://www.portlandmuseum.org