Mona Lisa Prado museum version on display When conservators proceeded to remove a coat of varnish from the figure in the painting - who is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco Del Giocondo - they uncovered important nuances of her 16th century dress and appearance. They then stripped off the black paint, revealing a lush landscape offering important clues into Leonardo's original, which is covered in layers of dirt and cracked varnish. While the origins of the Prado work are unknown, it may have arrived in Spain at the hands of Italian sculptor Pompeo Leoni during one of his frequent travels between Milan and Madrid in the 16th century, or by someone in the Spanish nobility. No records have been found to support either theory. The painting will be on display at the Prado until March 13, when it will travel to the Louvre in Paris to sit next to the original for a temporary exhibition. The Prado hopes the Louvre exhibition, which will show many works from Leonardo's studio, will offer more clues into which of the master's students is responsible for the painting. "In Paris we'll be able to explore more on who the painting's supposed author was," Miguel Falomir, curator of Italian renaissance painting at the Prado said.