Artist claims he is in a sexual relationship with the Mona Lisa

Domingo Zapata, who is famous for his multiple depictions of the Mona Lisa, has claimed that he shares a "romantic and sexual relationship" with the famous painting.

Celebrity artist and painter Domingo Zapata has a number of celebrity fans including A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp. Zapata became a household name after 26 of his digital re-interpretations of the Mona Lisa were put on display at The Louvre in Paris. The paintings had sold for millions of pounds.

Zapata has now revealed that he became obsessed with Mona Lisa while he was working on the aforementioned project. In an interview with The Sun, he said that he "would dream about her every night and have sex with her in his dreams."

The 47-year-old artist claims that his love affair with Mona Lisa is the secret behind his success. He added: "I have been working with Mona Lisa for 15 years. When I was painting her so much, I would dream and I have a sexual relationship with her."

He went on to explain how he developed an intimate relationship with the painting. "The more you open up, the more risk you take - the more you express yourself. It does become an obsession when you are into a topic and you want to explore it more and more."

Zapata further claimed that his unconventional relationship with Mona Lisa is known to others as well. Once, Pablo Picasso's granddaughter had even confronted him about it.

"Diana Picasso, who is an art expert and a good friend of mine, asked me in the studio: 'Are you dreaming about her... are you having sex with her?'" he told the publication. "And I'm like: 'Of course I am having sex with her in my dreams. If I was not having sex with her I would have quit a long time ago."