La Belle Ferronnière, Real or Not

Here we have "La Belle Ferronnière" accredited to have been painted by the great Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519). The sitter is believed to be Lucrezia Crivelli, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.

Ninety years ago the painting was put up for sale inspiring a newspaper reporter to ask leading art critic Sir Joseph Duveen for his opinion of the painting to which Sir Duveen replied that the portrait was surely a fake!.

Sir Duveen was sued by the paintings owner for slander and lost having to make $60 000 in reparations to the owners.

The lovely painting has since undergone a number of tests, some of which show that the materials used in its creation are completely appropriate to da Vinci and that the painting had been done before 1750.