Isleworth Mona Lisa
According to Leonardo's early biographer Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo had started to paint "Mona Lisa" in 1503, but "left it unfinished". However, a fully finished painting of a "certain Florentine lady" surfaced again in 1517, shortly before Leonardo's death and in his private possession. The latter painting almost certainly is the one that now hangs in the Louvre. Based on this contradiction, supporters of the authenticity of the "Isleworth Mona Lisa" claim it is the unfinished "Mona Lisa", made at least partially by Leonardo, and the Louvre "Mona Lisa" a later version of it, made by Leonardo for his own use.
Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
By the 20th century, "Mona Lisa" had already been a victim of satirical embellishment.
"Sapeck" (Eugène Bataille), in 1883, depicted "Mona Lisa" smoking a pipe ("shown above"). Titled "Le Rire" (The Laugh), the artwork was displayed at the "Incoherents" exhibition in Paris at the time of its creation, making it among the earliest known instances of "Mona Lisa"'s image being re-interpreted using contemporary irony.
Further interpretations by avante garde artists beginning in the early 20th century, coinciding with the artwork's theft, attest to "Mona Lisa"'s popularity as an irresistible target.
Dadaists and Surrealists were quick to modify, embellish and caricature "Mona Lisa"'s visage.