Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Alternative Title: “La Gioconda” Mona Lisa, also called Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, Italian La Gioconda, or French La Joconde, oil painting on a poplar wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, probably the world’s most famous painting. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Today, in 2020, the Mona Lisa is believed to be worth more than $ 860 million, taking into consideration the inflation. Small cracks in the paint, called craquelure, appear throughout the whole piece, but they are finer on the hands, where the thinner glazes correspond to Leonardo’s late period. Any speculative price (some say over a billion dollars!) It later traveled to the United States in 1963, drawing about 40,000 people per day during its six-week stay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Latest Articles. Tradition holds that the "Mona Lisa" is a painting of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that Leonardo started painting it in 1503. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting, Public Broadcasting Service- Treasures of the World - Hope Diamond, Marvel at the lengths gone to discover the identity of Leonardo's subject for his Renaissance masterpiece. The Mona Lisa is back in business. It was part of the royal collection before becoming the property of the French people during the Revolution (1787–99). We first present the performance in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the spatial resolution of the camera, as well as the multispectral imaging treatments we applied, including the layer amplification method (L.A.M. In its exquisite synthesis of sitter and landscape, the Mona Lisa set the standard for all future portraits. It removes the crowds that surround the Mona Lisa, allowing viewers to come face-to-face with her before soaring across the painting’s mountainous landscape. Two years later an art dealer in Florence alerted local authorities that a man had tried to sell him the painting. Later paintings by Raphael, such as La velata (1515–16) and Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione(c. 1514–15), continued to borrow from Leonardo's painting. Some experts believe both the Prado Mona Lisa and the Isleworth Mona Lisa are such copies. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. There are many portraits, including Leonardo’s earlier La Belle Ferronnière, in which the subject’s eyes appear to move as the viewer moves. The subject’s softly sculptural face shows Leonardo’s skillful handling of sfumato (use of fine shading) and reveals his understanding of the musculature and the skull beneath the skin. It was such an inconceivable crime, that the Mona Lisa wasn't even noticed missing until the following day. Our mission is to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Registration is free and only takes a moment. Why did they do it? login. It also toured to Tokyo and Moscow in 1974. For some reason however, the portrait was never delivered to its patron, and Leonardo kept it with him when he went to work for Francis I, the King of France. A third suggestion was that the painting was, in fact, Leonardo’s self-portrait, given the resemblance between the sitter’s and the artist’s facial features. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The 16th-century oil painting is a portrait of an enigmatic woman, whose captivating gaze and mysterious smiles has captured the fascination of audiences for centuries, is one of Italian painter, Leonardo da Vinci's best-known works in his oeuvre. Explore the latest articles from around the globe. The Mona Lisa Foundation, of course, disagrees with this position. Louvre Mona Lisa – Level 3b The analysis of Verrocchio’s ‘ Baptism of Christ ‘ (painted with the help of Leonardo) allows to understand that the code was transmitted to Leonardo by His Masters. For example, the code can be found the ‘ Spring ‘ by Botticelli. That interpretation was put forth by, among others, Sigmund Freud, who seemed to think that the Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile emerged from a—perhaps unconscious—memory of Caterina’s smile. Scholars have noted that the Mona Lisa is in fairly good condition for its age. Download PDF. The delicately painted veil, the finely wrought tresses, and the careful rendering of folded fabric demonstrate Leonardo’s studied observations and inexhaustible patience. Nat King Cole version. https://www.theatlantic.com/.../leonardo-da-vinci-mona-lisa-smile/540636 Agostino Vespucci, Handwritten comment about the Mona Lisa in Cicero’s Epistolae ad familiares (Bologna 1477), Bl. 1 The colour plate is printed from a transparency of an excellent photograph taken in Baghdad by Mr. Graham Gardner on behalf of the School. Mona Lisa 's eyes seem to follow the viewer around the room. Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503, and it was in his studio when he died in 1519. Her name is Lisa Gherardini the faithful wife of Francesco del Giocondo. There has been much speculation and debate regarding the identity of the Mona Lisa’s sitter. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. The mysterious woman in the painting is in fact Giocondo’s wife, Lisa Gherardini. The Mona Lisa is a likely a portrait of the wife of a Florentine merchant. or . The poplar panel shows some evidence of warping from resistance to its original frame and to braces added by early restorers. Leonardo DaVinci created this famous piece during the Italian Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa about 1503, and it was in his studio when he died in 1519. Numerous attempts in the 21st century to settle the debate by seeking Lisa del Giocondo’s remains to test her DNA and recreate an image of her face were inconclusive. Mona Lisa: The History of the World's Most Famous Painting was published this week by HarperCollins, price £16.99. Moreover, the sensuous curves of the sitter’s hair and clothing are echoed in the shapes of the valleys and rivers behind her. The 'Mona Lisa' is one of the finest examples of Renaissance art and an international treasure. The Mona Lisa hangs behind bulletproof glass in a gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it has been a part of the museum’s collection since 1804. Moreover, the Louvre Museum would probably never sell it. Unlike some legendary works of art, the Mona Lisa has never really been lost. Another theory was that the model may have been Leonardo’s mother, Caterina. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The three-quarter view, in which the sitter’s position mostly turns toward the viewer, broke from the standard profile pose used in Italian art and quickly became the convention for all portraits, one used well into the 21st century. Who would steal such a famous painting? Now why was she so important to paint? Paris’ Louvre Museum, which houses the world’s most famous portrait, reopened Monday after a four-month coronavirus lockdown. Okay so we all know that the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. But perhaps most importantly for art fans, the spolvero discovery gives hope that somehow, somewhere there is an original paper sketch of the Mona Lisa done by da Vinci himself. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The sitter’s mysterious smile and her unproven identity have made the painting a source of ongoing investigation and fascination. No work of art should make people miserable. Abstract On the request of the Louvre Museum, Mona Lisa 's portrait was digitised with Lumiere Technology's high-resolution multispectral camera. The data from this digitisation revealed for the first time the spolvero (a drawing transfer technique) of the portrait. Many theories have attempted to pinpoint one reason for the art piece’s celebrity, including its theft from the Louvre in 1911 and its tour to the U.S. in 1963, but the most compelling arguments insist that there is no one explanation. The glass protecting the Mona Lisa was replaced with a bulletproof case after several attacks in 1956, one of which damaged an area near the subject’s left elbow. For centuries the portrait was secluded in French palaces, until insurgents claimed the royal collection as the property of the people during the French Revolution (1787–99). The museum attracts millions of visitors each year, most of whom come for the Mona Lisa, so a steady stream of revenue may be more lucrative in the long run than a single payment. It's painted in such a way that the eyes of the Mona Lisa fall into the center of vision of the user, while the lips fall into the peripheral vision. This review of the Mona Lisa of science examines the evolution of its form at the hands of both science and art. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Art conservation and restoration: Paintings, Overview of the theories about who is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's famous. The Mona Lisa thus escaped harm from acts of vandalism in 1974 during the work’s visit to Tokyo and in 2009 when a museumgoer threw a ceramic mug at it. The painting currently sits in the Lourve Museum in Paris, France. There has been much speculation and debate regarding the identity of the portrait’s sitter. In The Da Vinci Code, Brown suggests Mona Lisa is an anagram for Amon l'Isa, referring to ancient Egyptian deities. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Peruggia was arrested, tried, and imprisoned, while the Mona Lisa took a tour of Italy before making its triumphant return to France. Zollner states that "… He and possibly two other workers had hidden in a closet overnight, taken the portrait from the wall the morning of August 21, 1911, and run off without suspicion. Incorporating new scientific research, Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass reveals details invisible to the naked eye, and provides an insight into the techniques da Vinci used, and the identity of his sitter. Please . The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile has inspired many writers, singers, and painters. An extended version of the VR experience, … To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. To prevent the widening of a small crack, visible near the centre of the upper edge of the painting, dovetails were added to the back of the painting. He was not the only artist to use it at that time. Donate or volunteer today! People flocked to the Louvre to view the empty space where the painting had once hung, the museum’s director of paintings resigned, and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire and artist Pablo Picasso were even arrested as suspects. The Mona Lisa was commissioned by wealthy cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo in the early 1500’s. The ‘Mona Lisa’ of Nimrud - Volume 25 Issue 1 - M. E. L. Mallowan. Just register and complete your career summary. The sitter’s identity has not been definitively proven. to read this article. He likely worked on it intermittently over several years, adding multiple layers of thin oil glazes at different times. Updates? But we don't know who that woman actually is. In the 1960s, the painting went on a tour where it was given … The Mona Lisa is arguably one of the most famous works of art of all time. The famous Leonardo da Vinci painting wasn't recovered until two years later, in December 1913. Mona Lisa fallacy: When machines read the faces we put on to meet the other faces January 19, 2021, 7:36 AM IST TOI Edit in TOI Editorials , Edit Page , India , Times View , World , TOI Scholars and historians have posited numerous possibilities, including that she is Lisa del Giocondo (née Gherardini), wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo—hence the alternative title to the work, La Gioconda. 8 This study 8 showed that the perception of being followed is produced in art when the subject looks directly at the artist just as in routine … register. Restorers later pasted heavy canvas over the crack and replaced the top dovetail. The Mona Lisa is priceless. Scholars and historians have posited numerous interpretations, including that she is Lisa del Giocondo (née Gherardini), the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo, hence the alternative title to the work, La Gioconda. More than 100 years ago, in August 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen off the walls of the Louvre in Paris. Da Vinci began working on the Mona Lisa in 1503 and it was not completed until 1506. In 1911 the painting was stolen, causing an immediate media sensation. Raphael, who had been to Leonardo's workshop several times, promptly used elements of the portrait's composition and format in several of his works, such as Young Woman with Unicorn (c. 1506), and Portrait of Maddalena Doni (c. 1506). Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Some scholars suggested that disguising himself as a woman was the artist’s riddle. Corrections? Get a month's unlimited access to THE content online. Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist (Burlington House Cartoon). That identity was first suggested in 1550 by artist biographer Giorgio Vasari. ). After Leonardo died in a Loire Valley château in 1519, the Mona Lisa was legitimately purchased for the royal collections. Small cracks in the paint, called craquelure, appear throughout the whole piece, but they are finer on the hands, where the thinner glazes correspond to Leonardo’s late period. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1950. On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci 's Mona Lisa, today one of the most famous paintings in the world, was stolen right off the wall of the Louvre. Now it appears Mona Lisa may have been hiding a remarkable secret – she was a he. The sense of overall harmony achieved in the painting—especially apparent in the sitter’s faint smile—reflects Leonardo’s idea of the cosmic link connecting humanity and nature, making this painting an enduring record of Leonardo’s vision. His studio when he died in 1519, the Mona Lisa between 1503 and 1506.! 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