The Mona Lisa has come to life.
A digital “Living Mona Lisa,” has been produced by a team of 40 French technicians and artists, according to the U.K. publication The Telegraph.
The interactive version of the painting, which took nearly a year to develop, reportedly employs artificial intelligence technology.
“Now she can sense changes in her surroundings. Leonardo da Vinci tried to make her come alive, so it’s appropriate that we’ve taken his intentions a few steps further,” stated Florent Aziosmanoff, the originator of the recent version.
Aziosmanoff hopes to create similar works using the same technology in the future, according to The Huffington Post.
“One of the future objectives is to develop an emotional context that will take into account the past experiences and interactions of the system,” Jean-Claude Heudin, the head of the Paris Internet and Multimedia Institute, stated.
Aziosmanoff reportedly chose the Mona Lisa because “she is the best known and one of the most iconic characters in the history of art.” Although the actual painting hangs in the Louvre museum in Paris, digital versions will reportedly be produced and marketed in different sizes and formats.
By the fall, digital paintings may become more widely produced, as miniature version of works will also reportedly be developed.
“Necklaces and other jewelry versions will be sold at different prices depending on whether they have precious stones or not,” stated Aziosmanoff.
“This is primarily an artistic project, not a commercial one, but we want to make paintings cheap enough for tourists to buy and take home as a souvenir.”