An Italian historian’s theory that Mona lisa might be a Chinese slave and leonardo da Vinci’s mother — making the 15th-century polymath half-Chinese — sent online commentators into a frenzy on Wednesday.
Angelo Paratico, a Hong Kong-based historian and novelist from Italy, told the South China Morning Post: “On the back of Mona lisa, there is a Chinese landscape and even her face looks Chinese.”
Chinese web users expressed astonishment and disbelief Wednesday, posting dozens of parodies of the painting, with faces from Chinese comedians to British actor Rowan Atkinson grafted over her delicate features.
little is known about Caterina, the mother of the artist, writer, mathematician and inventor, and the identity of the sitter for the portrait hanging in Paris’ louvre museum has long been a matter of debate.