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Outlook: The man who (re)painted the Mona Lisa

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Adebanji Alade and his Mona Lisa in his studio

14/10/2021 GMT

The man who (re)painted the Mona Lisa

BBC World Service - Outlook, The man who (re)painted the Mona Lisa

Adebanji Alade recreated a masterpiece - but he's never seen the real thing

Nigerian-British artist Adebanji Alade took up a challenge to repaint the Mona Lisa in just a month - but he's never seen the real thing.

When some film producers asked artist Adebanji Alade if he'd like to take up a challenge to repaint Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa in just a month, he thought it sounded like a bad idea - but he said yes anyway, despite the fact the original (which Adebanji had never seen) took four years to paint. 

He tells Emily Webb about his belief in saying yes, his life as a "compulsive sketcher", and the family tragedy that made him determined never to run away from problems.

Polish singer Jakub Jozef Orlinski is something of a rarity in the operatic world. Not only is he a countertenor – meaning his range is high compared to other male singers – but he’s also a breakdancer. He's brought his dancing skills to the stage, and most recently to his part in Rinaldo, where he stepped in to take the title role after the leading lady pulled out. Emily Webb met Josef at Glyndebourne, the opera house in the English countryside. This was first broadcast in August 2019.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Picture: Adebanji Alade and his Mona Lisa
Credit: Emily Webb for Outlook

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