Biggest Mona Lisa mosaic unveiled at Expo

A photo taken on April 11 shows a re-creation of the Mona Lisa composed of hundreds of pieces completed by 999 painters, on display on the exterior wall of the Shenzhen Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. [Beijing News]

The largest-ever re-creation of the Mona Lisa was installed on the exterior wall of the Shenzhen Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo on Sunday, the Beijing News reported.

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The oil painting, which is about 300 square meters, took 999 painters four hours each, according to Meng Yan, a worker in the Shenzhen Pavilion.

The painting is composed of hundreds of 30-centimeter-long and 20-centimeter-wide pieces, with each painter's signature in the bottom right corner.

One of the Mona Lisa's eyes is made of eight small paintings, and her mouth is made of 15, but the small pieces come together to perfectly compose a smile on her face.

All the painters work in Dafen Cun Oil Painting Village, a famous village in Longgang District, Shenzhen, which produces copies of all kinds of art.

Inside the pavilion, hand-made copies of the world's most famous artworks highlight the flourishing oil painting industry as well as the rapid development of the village in recent years.