The News Minute | December 15, 2014 | 4:10 pm IST

An earlier version of one of Leonardo Da Vinci's most celebrated works of art, "Mona Lisa", on Monday made its world premiere in Singapore.

The painting highlights the beginning of the "Earlier Mona Lisa" exhibition, which opened at the Arts House at the Old Chamber of Parliament, Xinhua reported.

This is the first public viewing of the painting which, experts believe, Da Vinci started work on in the early 16th century -- 10 years ahead of the Paris's Louvre version.

The figure of the earlier "Mona Lisa", widely known as "Isleworth Mona Lisa", closely resembles that of the Louvre "Mona Lisa", but the face looks much younger.

(The Louvre Mona Lisa on the left and the Isleworth on the right)

According to Leonardo's biographer Giorgio Vasari, the painter had started to work on the Mona Lisa in 1503, but "left it unfinished".

A nobleman later bought the painting in 1778 and it was not until a century later that British art collector Hugh Blaker discovered the "Isleworth Mona Lisa" in the home of the nobleman in 1913.

However, since it came out, the painting has been under dispute over its authenticity.

In 2013, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich carried out a carbon-dating test and finally confirmed that it originally came from Da Vinci.

During this exhibition, visitors not only can be the first to view the earlier "Mona Lisa", but can also embark on an interactive journey of art.

Visitors will be given a tablet which showcases the Italian Renaissance and authentication process of the painting before they finally see the masterpiece.

The exhibition will be on display for public Dec 16-Feb 11, and after that, it is set to head to China and other parts of the world.

with IANS