Fake for Real: The most famous reproduction

The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world. Just about everyone knows the mysteriously smiling lady. But how many of us have actually been to the Louvre to see it with our own eyes? Nearly everyone knows it through one of its countless reproductions. Can you tell which of the above images is real and which is a reproduction? Think again! We are not in the Louvre; they are both reproductions. Rumour has it that the original Mona Lisa was accidentally destroyed in 1911, shortly after being stolen by former Louvre guard Vincenzo Peruggia, who wanted to return it to Italy. Is the painting now on display in the Louvre in fact a reproduction? It is hard to say – too many tourists blocked our view when we were in the Louvre for us to investigate the “original”.

From our Fake for Real series.