According to Italian art historian Silvano Vinceti, the masterpiece Mona Lisa was a "blend" by Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci of the portrait of his same-sex lover, Salai, with Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Tuscan merchant.

Silvano Vinceti said that Mona Lisa's face is an androgynous portrait, a blend of features from Lisa Gherardini and Gian Giacomo Caprotti, famously known as Salai.

Not convincing

Vinceti is currently the lead researcher at the National Commission on Cultural Heritage. He published his findings after evaluating the painting using infrared technology.

Vinceti declared that his nose, forehead, and smile...Mona LisaIt bears a striking resemblance to many other paintings by Da Vinci with Salai as the model.

"Mona Lisa is an androgynous portrait, half man, half woman. The painting was based on two models: Lisa Gherardini and Salai, an apprentice of Leonardo. We have almost found the answer to the question that has puzzled scholars for many years: whose model did Da Vinci use to paint Mona Lisa?" Vinceti told the Telegraph from Florence, where four years ago he began excavating beneath a monastery hoping to find the remains and skull of Lisa Gherardini.

Italian art historian Silvano Vinceti

Experts believe that Caprotti came to Da Vinci's house around 1490, when he was about 10 years old. He worked as Da Vinci's assistant for the next 20 years and was given the nickname Salai, meaning "Little Devil," by the famous painter.

However, Vinceti's claim has been met with skepticism from many of the world's leading experts on Da Vinci.

"This is purely imaginary. Infrared photographs do not support the idea that the Mona Lisa portrait is a blend of the facial features of Lisa Gherardini and Salai. No one knows exactly what Salai looked like, so it cannot be said that his features were incorporated into Mona Lisa's face."

Giorgio Vasari, a contemporary painter and chronicler of Renaissance artists, once described Salai as a handsome young man with curly hair, but that was a standard type for the time. This type had already been depicted by Da Vinci in many works long before Salai appeared in the art scene at that time," – Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of art history at Trinity University, who is writing the new book Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting, argues.

According to historical records, Lisa Gherardini was married to the wealthy merchant Francesco del Giocondo. His family owned a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Florence. Last week, for the first time in over 50 years, this villa was sold for 20 million euros.

MasterpieceThe Mona Lisa is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Mona Lisa, a masterpieceDa VinciIt has puzzled art lovers for centuries. Currently, there are several theories about the boundary line that are considered the most convincing:

- Many columns were mutilated: It has long been believed that after Da Vinci's death, the canvas in the painting was mutilated, and the two columns that were once the focal point of the painting were also cut. Art historians still debate this, arguing that any depiction of columns in the painting is a copy.

- The Mona Lisa is not a unique work: Many believe that Da Vinci created more than one portrait of the Mona Lisa. There is another famous painting known as the Isleworth Mona Lisa. This portrait, found before World War I, also depicts a young woman with a mysterious smile.

- "Nude" versions: There are currently at least eight versions of Mona Lisa, in which the model is nude. Many speculate that these are copies of a lost original work depicting Mona Lisa nude.

- Invisible Eyebrow: In 2007, Pascal Cotte claimed he discovered traces of a left eyebrow on Mona Lisa's face while appraising the painting. Cotte argued that Mona Lisa once had both eyebrows and eyelashes, but they had faded over time.

According to Telegraph/Sports & Culture