A newly discovered version of the iconic Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous artwork in the world, has been acquired through Christie’s in New York by a London based art collector, and will be unveiled in London later this year. This intriguing piece looks set to shed further light on a fascinating chapter of art history.
Its new owner is London based Dr. Aaron Roni Neumark, a passionate and respected collector who dedicates much of his time to the preservation of fine artworks. As the trustee and custodian of the extraordinary Neumark Family Trust & Collection, he oversees an intergenerational family art and Judaica collection, founded in 19th-century Prussian-Germany by his ancestors.
Dr. Neumark saw the painting was available via the Christie’s Old Masters auction in New York and was intrigued to know more about its provenance. The received wisdom is that around five original versions of the Mona Lisa were painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and his students. Dr. Neumark was keen to investigate whether this could be the school of Da Vinci.
Christie’s credited the painting in its catalogue as by a ‘Follower of Leonardo Da Vinci’. The painting owned by a private collector in Japan, where acquired by the next one circa 1990, lacked any further information about its historical source, age, chain of ownership, restoration campaigns, etc.
Dr. Neumark sensed the work needed further scrutiny and decided to bid on it at the auction. Once successfully acquiring the painting, Neumark embarked on a journey to establish whether this mysterious work could be a legitimate 16th-century artwork by an immediate follower of the master himself. He employed a team of leading forensic scientists who painstakingly analyzed the colour palette, pigment samples, layer structure, and ageing process to authenticate and date the composition used in the piece. After much examination, they confirmed the piece could plausibly have been painted in the 16th century.
He then sought the advice and treatment of leading art conservationist and restorer Simon Gillespie and his team. Simon is known for his regular BBC appearances on programmes such as Britain’s Lost Masterpieces and Fake or Fortune, revealing hidden art history with his world-class restoration. Simon has treated artworks by Picasso, Banksy, Hockney, Brueghel, Lowry, KAWS and more. His restoration has led to the discovery of lost masterpieces by Titian, Rubens, Botticelli, and Rembrandt, and now the enigmatic Neumark Mona Lisa.
The conservation team discovered that the painting was made by copying the Leonardo’s original at an early stage when the original was not dirty and obscured as it is known and seen today. They examined the overall pattern of cracking across the whole paint surface, which was typical of the painting’s presumed age. Tests have also suggested that the colour palette of the Neumark Mona Lisa is comparable to the Prado version, executed by one of Leonardo’s close pupils.
After a very delicate campaign of surface treatment and cleaning, both Dr. Neumark and the Simon Gillespie team decided to avoid a full varnish removal, to keep the painting identical in its appearance to the one hanging in the Louvre.
Dr. Neumark is now in discussions to exhibit The Neumark Mona Lisa in London.
He comments, “Ms. Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, ‘Mona Lisa’, is an eternal and incomparable icon, and from now on, another Jewel in the Crown of The Neumark Family Collection.”
The Neumark Family Collection contains over 5000 incredible historical items in a great variety of media – oil paintings, drawings, rare books, engravings, etchings, illustrated and illuminated scrolls and manuscripts, as well as other visual works printed on porcelain, parchment, silk and paper, dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, representing 500 years of art, culture, and legacy.
He also owns several of the rarest books in the world, such as first editions by Shakespeare and Copernicus, atlases printed on parchment by the 16th century cartographer Agnese Battista, selection of prayer and religious books on vellum, etc.
While co-hosting the Liberatum Gala for Ellen Burstyn at the Venice Film Festival this month, Dr Neumark unveiled another one of his remarkable treasures, the sole copy of a whole Bible printed in Hebrew on vellum during 1517-1518 in Venice.
The Neumark Family Collection also holds dozens of original etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn (Netherlands, 1606-1669), etched during his lifetime, illustrating Biblical scenes from the Old Testament, and depicting Judaic subjects and portraits. At just 48, Neumark is probably the youngest collector of Judaica at this level in the world, and is passionately committed to drawing wider audiences into this fascinating and important historical genre of art. Based between London, Berlin and Tel-Aviv, his stunning Knightsbridge apartment is a treasure trove of the most extraordinary artefacts and art works. Historical oil painting portraits sit grandly alongside remarkable rare books and manuscripts.
Neumark’s long-term vision is to eventually open his own museum, so that this important family collection can be presented and experienced by much wider audiences.
- Paul English