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Speculation about the identity of the subtly smirking woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has swirled for years. Art historians, doctors and random folks have all chimed in on the controversy with theories claiming the woman was a merchant’s wife, da Vinci’s mother or just some lady with high cholesterol.

Now, Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage is floating a theory that may raise some eyebrows. The association of art historians and scientists believes that the painting is a self-portrait of da Vinci dressed in drag and they would like to dig up the artist’s body to prove their hypothesis. The group has already received preliminary permission to exhume the body and hopes that reconstruction of da Vinci’s face will reveal Mona Lisa’s true identity.

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