How to Paint the Mona Lisa

Pictured: Aderbanji Alade

Provided by APT

This special reveals the secrets of this iconic masterpiece with renowned British artist Aderbanji Alade.

Her elusive smile is the perfect combination of art, science, optics, and illusion – the greatest triumph of Leonardo da Vinci’s career. How to Paint the Mona Lisa, airing Thursday, April 6 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV, reveals the secrets of this iconic masterpiece with renowned British artist Aderbanji Alade as he recreates da Vinci’s groundbreaking painting techniques from scratch to unlock the genius of the world’s most famous painting. 

As an artist, teacher, and Vice President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Alade is an experienced practitioner, but he enlists the help of artists and conservationists who are keeping these 500-year-old ways of painting alive. He is also joined by historian Martin Kemp, one of the world’s leading authorities on the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci, who reveals the story behind the sitter and what makes this portrait a true masterpiece. By recreating his version of the Mona Lisa using traditional materials and da Vinci’s methods, Alade gains a deeper understanding about the artist – and why the whole world is enthralled by this particular portrait.