Mona Lisa double painted simultaneously

Madrid's Prado Museum puts a copy of the Mona Lisa, painted at the same time as Leonardo Da Vinci's original, on show after a restoration study reveals the replica was also created at the master's workshop.

Deputy Director of Conservation at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Gabriele Finaldi, says a Mona Lisa double discovered in Spain earlier this year helps in understanding Leonardo Da Vinci's working methods.

The double, which was produced at the same time as the original by an assistant, supports evidence that Da Vinci would produce his works of art while at the same time his assistants would work on an identical or similar piece.

Although the Mona Lisa double is no competition for the one hanging in the Louvre in Paris, the complimenting painting does show the earlier stages of the famous work.