Nude Mona Lisa portrait found in Paris may have been drawn by Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa which is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci is a classic piece of art relished by almost everybody.

However, a French art expert says that a charcoal drawing housed in another art collection for more than 150 years may have been Mona Lisa's sketch.

So there is a nude charcoal portrait and the woman is known as the Mona Vanna. It was previously attributed only to Leonardo da Vinci's studio.

Experts have found enough clues to suggest the artist worked on both.

BY LEONARDO - AT LEAST IN PART

When the tests were conducted at the Louvre Museum in Paris, curators believe the sketch is "at least in part" by Leonardo.

It has been held since 1862 in the collection of Renaissance art at the Conde Museum at the Palace of Chantilly, north of the French capital.

The nude charcoal portrait reflects a similar feel of the original Mona Lisa as the hands and body are almost identical and the portraits are almost the same size.

The Chantilly Estate posted a photo of the work being done on the sketch.

Analyse de la Joconde nue au @c2rmf avec Bruno Mottin, conservateur du @c2rmf et @mathieudeldicqu conservateur du @chantillydomain pic.twitter.com/alMMSu09nP- Domaine de Chantilly (@chantillydomain) September 28, 2017

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the great painters of the Italian Renaissance. Leonardo's oil painting Mona Lisa also known as La Gioconda remains one of the world's most recognisable and valuable works of art.