Paris, May 5 (AP): Is the Mona Lisa headed for surgery?

Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old painting of the woman with the mysterious smile will go under the microscope and be X-rayed for the first time in half a century to determine what’s causing it to warp.

The world’s most famous portrait, painted in Italy over several years beginning about 1505, has long been known to be fragile. The oil painting sits on a 12-mm poplar board that has undergone many nips and tucks over time.

Last week, the Louvre museum said warping was discovered during the most recent of routine checks, which are conducted every one to two years.

Vincent Pomarede, chief curator in the Louvre’s department of painting, said the study is to help determine whether past repair work is doing more harm than good — and whether new touchups are needed.