The world’s first interactive AI Mona Lisa
Meet Mona Lisa as an AI-powered Digital Human who speaks with visitors in real time. Developed with more than €200,000 in public R&D funding and completed with gold status under the State of Hesse’s DISTR@L programme.
Turning an iconic portrait into a living conversation.
In this Talking Paintings experience, the Mona Lisa becomes an interactive digital character visitors can speak with directly. Carefully curated knowledge about the artwork, Leonardo da Vinci and its historical context turns passive viewing into a more personal, engaging and memorable way to explore art.
The artwork stays iconic. The way visitors experience it changes completely.
Creating an interactive Mona Lisa AI experience
Everyone knows Mona Lisa. But most people experience the painting by looking, reading and moving on.
What if people could talk to her, ask their own questions and explore the story behind the artwork through conversation?
A real-time AI-powered Digital Human
Voice
Speaks in the first person and answers follow-up questions as the conversation develops.
Facial expression
Responds with visible emotion and expression, not a static portrait reading from a script.
Knowledge
Visitors ask about Leonardo da Vinci, the painting and its historical context, and get answers built for exactly that.
Controlled AI for museums and exhibitions
Approved knowledge
Every answer comes from a defined, approved knowledge base tailored to the museum or exhibition.
Curated communication
Sources, topics and communication style are shaped to match the institution, its content and its visitors.
Consistent responses
Visitor conversations stay separate from the knowledge base, so every interaction stays reliable.
Mona Lisa success story
The project completed the State of Hesse's DISTR@L programme with gold status and was presented by the programme as a success story.
The speaking Mona Lisa has appeared at Frankfurt Airport, Stadthof Hanau and Prompt: Dein KI-Event in Baden-Württemberg. The project has also been featured on ZDF, Hallo Hessen and HR and in the Frankfurter Allgemeine.
Today, the interactive Mona Lisa is also available to rent for museums, exhibitions, events and public spaces.
Our thanks to the State of Hesse, to Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, and to everyone who backed the project when it was still an idea about a painting that talks.
Facts
- Character
- Mona Lisa
- Product
- Talking Paintings AI
- Funding programme
- DISTR@L, State of Hesse
- Result
- Completed with gold status, presented as a DISTR@L success story
- Locations
- Frankfurt Airport, Stadthof Hanau, Prompt: Dein KI-Event and others
- Available
- To rent
In the news
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Real characters, real institutions.
Alan Turing
Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt. Shortlisted for the DigAMus Award 2026.
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Joseph Haydn
Schloss Esterházy and Burg Forchtenstein. A Talking Paintings Lite character.
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Prince Esterházy
Schloss Esterházy, Eisenstadt. Shares his own family history with visitors today.
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Vincent van Gogh
Created for “Vincent: Between Madness & Wonder” by Alegria Exhibition.
Read the Case Study →
Alfred for MERCK
A Digital Human brand host. Created once and used in Darmstadt and South Korea.
Read the Case Study →
What is the interactive Mona Lisa?
An AI-powered Digital Human based on Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait. She speaks with visitors in real time, in the first person, and answers their own questions.
How does the speaking Mona Lisa work?
Visitors speak to her; speech recognition, an AI language model working from approved knowledge, speech synthesis and real-time animation produce her answer in seconds.
What can visitors ask Mona Lisa?
About Leonardo da Vinci, the painting, her time, and the stories and theories around the world’s most famous portrait.
Does the AI Mona Lisa use the open internet?
No. She answers from a defined, approved knowledge base and declines topics outside it. She does not learn from visitors.
Can museums and events rent Mona Lisa?
Yes. She is one of the characters in our rental library, with software, standard hardware, setup and remote support included.
Bring the interactive Mona Lisa to your space.
She is one of the characters available to rent, with hardware, setup and support included.