The original Mona Lisa
Did you know that the painting of Mona Lisa as we know it is not the original created by Leonardo Da Vinci?
We used AI (DALL-E 2) to “outpaint” the image to see what an original large painting might have looked like. Expanding the original painting only took about 5 minutes.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. For centuries, it has been revered for its beauty and mystery. But did you know that the painting we know today is not the original? The original Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519. It was a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. The painting hung in the Florence Cathedral for many years before it was bought by King Francis I of France in 1516. It has been on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris ever since. In 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by a French soldier and taken to Italy. It was returned to France in 1814, but it had been damaged by smoke and water. All the damaged areas were cut off leaving us with a relatively small portion of the original painting. Today, the painting is protected by bulletproof glass and is one of the world's most visited works of art. Despite its fame, the Mona Lisa remains a mystery. The subject’s enigmatic smile has baffled scholars for centuries and has led to countless theories about her identity and Da Vinci’s true intentions. But one thing is certain: The Mona Lisa is a timeless masterpiece that continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
Important note to fact-checkers: This article is partly fictional and designed to showcase the power of “outpainting” with AI.