Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance,[4][5] it has been described as "the best
known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the
world".[6] The painting's novel qualities include the subject's enigmatic expression,[7] monumentality of the
composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism.[8]
The painting has been definitively identified to depict Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo.[9] It is painted
in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. Leonardo never gave the painting to the Giocondo family, and it is
believed he later left it in his will to his favored apprentice Salaì.[10] It was believed to have been painted
between 1503-06; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. It was acquired
by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic. It has been on permanent
display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797.[11]
The painting's global fame and popularity stem from its 1911 theft by Vincenzo Peruggia, who attributed his
actions to Italian patriotism – a belief it should belong to Italy. The theft and subsequent recovery in 1914
generated unprecedented publicity for an art theft, and led to the publication of many cultural depictions
such as the 1915 opera Mona Lisa, two early 1930s films (The Theft of the Mona Lisa and Arsène Lupin)
and the song Mona Lisa recorded by Nat King Cole – one of the most successful songs of the 1950s.[12]
The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for
the highest-known painting insurance valuation in history at US$100 million in 1962[13] equivalent to $1
billion as of 2023.[14]
Title and subject
A margin note by Agostino Vespucci (visible at right) discovered in a book at Heidelberg University. Dated
1503, it states that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo.[15][16]
The title of the painting, which is known in English as Mona Lisa, is based on the presumption that it
depicts Lisa del Giocondo, although her likeness is uncertain. Renaissance art historian Giorgio
Vasari wrote that "Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his
wife."[17][18][19][20] Monna in Italian is a polite form of address originating as ma donna—similar
to Ma'am, Madam, or my lady in English. This became madonna, and its contraction monna. The title of the
painting, though traditionally spelled Mona in English, is spelled in Italian as Monna Lisa (mona being a
vulgarity in Italian), but this is rare in English.
Lisa del Giocondo was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy
Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.[23] The painting is thought to have been commissioned for
their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea.[24] The Italian name for the
painting, La Gioconda, means 'jocund' ('happy' or 'jovial') or, literally, 'the jocund one', a pun on the
feminine form of Lisa's married name, Giocondo.[23][25] In French, the title La Joconde has the same meaning.
Vasari's account of the Mona Lisa comes from his biography of Leonardo published in 1550, 31 years after
the artist's death. It has long been the best-known source of information on the provenance of the work and
identity of the sitter. Leonardo's assistant Salaì, at his death in 1524, owned a portrait which in his personal
papers was named la Gioconda, a painting bequeathed to him by Leonardo.[citation needed]
That Leonardo painted such a work, and its date, were confirmed in 2005 when a scholar at Heidelberg
University discovered a marginal note in a 1477 printing of a volume by ancient Roman philosopher Cicero.
Dated October 1503, the note was written by Leonardo's contemporary Agostino Vespucci. This note likens
Leonardo to renowned Greek painter Apelles, who is mentioned in the text, and states that Leonardo was
at that time working on a painting of Lisa del Giocondo.[26] In response to the announcement of the
discovery of this document, Vincent Delieuvin, the Louvre representative, stated "Leonardo da Vinci was
painting, in 1503, the portrait of a Florentine lady by the name of Lisa del Giocondo. About this we are now
certain. Unfortunately, we cannot be absolutely certain that this portrait of Lisa del Giocondo is the painting
of the Louvre."[27]
The catalogue raisonné Leonardo da Vinci (2019) confirms that the painting probably depicts Lisa del
Giocondo, with Isabella d'Este being the only plausible alternative.[28] Scholars have developed
several alternative views, arguing that Lisa del Giocondo was the subject of a different portrait, and
identifying at least four other paintings referred to by Vasari as the Mona Lisa.[29] Several other people have
been proposed as the subject of the painting,[30] including Isabella of Aragon,[31] Cecilia Gallerani,[32] Costanza
d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla,[30] Pacifica Brandano/Brandino, Isabela Gualanda, Caterina Sforza,
Bianca Giovanna Sforza, Salaì, and even Leonardo himself.[33][34][35] Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud theorized
that Leonardo imparted an approving smile from his mother, Caterina, onto the Mona Lisa and other works.
[36][37]
