Mona Lisa ©Oh Paris
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A 37 year-old oil painter and graphic designer claims to have finally cracked the mystery of Leonardo DaVinci’s elusive Mona Lisa. According to decoder, Ron Piccirillo, the coy Mona is disguising a menagerie of animal allegories.
Piccirillo, discovered four lion heads, an ape and a buffalo hovering in the air after he turned the painting on its side. Then after months pouring over Leonardo’s journals, he also discovered references which led him to a crocodile or snake coming out of the left hand side of her body.
Mr Piccirillo claims that his discovery cracks open the meaning of the work – that the Mona Lisa is actually a representation of envy.
“It’s not every day you spot something that has gone unnoticed for 500 years.”
The theory is extremely controversial among art critics who have come up with dozens of theories about the painting and its enigmatic smile. Only time will tell if the DaVinci code has finally been cracked.
Get more at MSNBC.