Evening star., 1923-03-16
Count Primoli's Undraped Mona Lisa
Among Treasures Given to France

| the great Louvre Museum. in Paris.
some years ago. and its subsequent
amazing recovery, contributed to give
| 1t worldwide celebrity, and TO at
tract the attention Of people in every
| country to the mystery Of her eniz-
| matte smile. The Mona Lisa" Of
| the Primoli collection is a full-face
portrait and represents the fair lady
unframed and nude until the waist.
the lower portion of her BODY beink
concealed from view by a beautifully
painted marble balustrade.
X x y
While it has been claimed that La
Gioconda was the mistress of King
Francis 1 of France. there is no truth
in the statement. For the monarch
in question was but nine years ola,I
and had not yet succeeded to the
throne, when Leonardo di VinciE
painted so many portraits of MonaA
Lisa, and by the time that he grew4
up had won the battle of Marignan
had entered Milan as a victorious
commander and had first made the
acquaintance of the painter. La Clio
conda was already resting in heIH
eyes on her in life. But he was sd
much fascinated by her portrait thai
he secured from Di Vinci the pictufe#
OF her which now hangs in the
Louvre.
Having thus disposed of the legend s.
which includes La Gioconda among
the many sultanaS of this gayest and
most susceptible of French rulers, the
nude Mona Lisa" of Count Primo
would seem to likewise create disbe e
lief in the story, which insists tha
the lady was modest, well behaved
devoted to charity and so pious and
devout as to rank almost as a saint
Women of this kind are not in tn
habit of promenading about tn
gardens of their palace without IS
stitch Of clothing on them. and it
manifest that La Gioconda did no s.
refuse to display her charms in al
their perfection to Leonardo di Vino Ell
X X W
That the Primoli Mona Lisa" which
came to him through the Napoleonic
Cardinal Fesch of the XVIII century
is authentic, is apparent from the fact
that another nude portrait of her by
di Vinci adorned the walls of the
Imperial Hermitage Palace at Petro-
grad until the revolution of Rl1
(and may possibly be preserved there
stilD. 1t is identical with the one
belonging to Count Primoli, with the
exception that it has the hair fast
ened up on the head instead OF hang
ing down over the shoulders. More
over, in the great Chateau de Chan
tilly bequeathed by the late Royal
Duke of Aumale to the Institute OF
France there exists among the mar
|velous collections there. a crayon de-
sign for the Primoli La Gioconda,"
and which bears, like the painting,
the autograph signature Of di ViRci.
+ PrimolFs mother was Princess Char
lotte Bonaparte. and her mother was
the daughter of King Joseph Bona
parte, who occupied in turn the
thrones of Naples and of Spain before
seeking refuge In the United States.
Lucien Bonaparte, son of the elder
brother of the great emperor, emf
grated to the United States and mar
ried King Joseph's daughter-that is
to, say, his first cousin, at Borden
town, N. j., where their daughter.
Charlotte, afterward the mother OF
Count Joseph Primoli, was born.
Count Prihnoli is. therefore, a nephew
of the late Cardinal Bonaparte, and
through him inherited most of the
treasures accumulated by his an
cestor, that wonderful old woman,
Donna Letitia Romolino, the mother
of the great emperor and of his
brothers, and who used to be known
as Madame Mere" l.s.-. .-.. .'.-