Who was Mona Lisa?
Over the past century, it has been proposed that Mona Lisa was a noblewoman – Isabella d’Este, Marquise of Mantua, or Costanza d’Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla.
Others have stared at that unsettling visage and seen the face of a man – Leonardo da Vinci himself, or the man who was for 20 years his assistant (and perhaps his lover), Gian Giacomo Caprotti.
There is even a theory that the picture may have started out as a portrait from life but, over the years that Leonardo worked on it, evolved into an abstract vision of the feminine ideal.
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1. Mona Lisa
Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci
Created in: 1503
Located in: Louvre, Paris
This painting is one of the most famous and recognized paintings in history. There have been many discussions on the enigmatic smiles of the Mona Lisa, on whet...
What are views on painting?
These days, most experts agree that the Mona Lisa is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, wife of a Florentine silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo (hence the name by which she is known in Italy and France, La Gioconda, or La Joconde).
When she sat for Leonardo da Vinci, in ar...
Da Vinci’s obsession
Leonardo da Vinci worked on the painting for four years, and possibly at intervals after that. He always took it with him when he travelled, and he never signed or dated it.
The picture went with him when, towards the end of his life, he moved to France.
At that time, it was not seen...
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