WILMINGTON, DE.- The Delaware Art Museum is displaying a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of the Mona Lisa in the Museum’s Bank of America Education Wing from February 18, 2009, through March 22, 2009.

Painted over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of the Mona Lisa is one of the most recognized paintings in the world. For centuries the public has been intrigued with this iconic image, and artists around the globe have admired, studied, and reproduced it in order to understand its technique.

The Norwegian artist Tor Egil Hansen (born 1964) painted a remarkable replica of the Mona Lisa over the course of five months in 2004 – 2005, taking approximately 400 hours to complete. For a short time, the Museum is displaying this replica along with several photographs documenting its creation in the Bank of America Education Wing, where artists of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to seek insight into Da Vinci’s methods.