Mona Lisa

This article is about the painting. For other uses, see Mona Lisa (disambiguation).

Mona Lisa
Italian: la Gioconda, Monna Lisa,
French: la Joconde
See adjacent text.
The Mona Lisa digitally retouched to reduce the effects of ageing; the original painting has darkened over time.[1][2][3]
ArtistLeonardo da Vinci
Yearc. 1503–1506, perhaps continuing until c. 1517
MediumOil on poplar panel
SubjectLisa del Giocondo
Dimensions77 cm × 53 cm (30 in × 21 in)
LocationLouvre, Paris

The Mona Lisa (/ˌmoʊnə ˈliːsə/ MOH-nə LEE-sə; Italian: la Gioconda [la dʒoˈkonda] or Monna Lisa [ˈmɔnna ˈliːza]; French: la Joconde [la ʒɔkɔ̃d]) 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, [and] 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 traditionally considered to depict the Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo.[9] It is painted in oil on a white poplar panel.[10] Leonardo never gave the painting to the Giocondo family.[11] It was believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. King Francis I of France acquired the Mona Lisa after Leonardo's death in 1519, and it is now the property of the French Republic. It has normally been on display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797.[12]

The painting's global fame and popularity partly 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.[13]

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,[14] equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023.[15]

  1. ^ "The Mona Lisa's Twin Painting Discovered". All Things Considered. 2 February 2012. National Public Radio. The original Mona Lisa in the Louvre is difficult to see—it's covered with layers of varnish, which has darkened over the decades and the centuries, and even cracked', Bailey says
  2. ^ "Theft of the Mona Lisa". Treasures of the World. PBS. time has aged and darkened her complexion.
  3. ^ Sassoon, Donald (2001). Mona Lisa: The History of the World's Most Famous Painting. HarperCollins. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-00-710614-1. It is actually quite dirty, partly due to age and partly to the darkening of a varnish applied in the sixteenth century.
  4. ^ "The Theft That Made Mona Lisa a Masterpiece". All Things Considered. 30 July 2011. NPR. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  5. ^ Sassoon, Donald (21 September 2001). "Why I think Mona Lisa became an icon". Times Higher Education.
  6. ^ Lichfield, John (1 April 2005). "The Moving of the Mona Lisa". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016.
  7. ^ Cohen, Philip (23 June 2004). "Noisy secret of Mona Lisa's". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 23 April 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Mona Lisa – Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo". Louvre. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  9. ^ "Mona Lisa – Heidelberger find clarifies identity". University Library Heidelberg. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  10. ^ Uzielli, Luca; Gril, Joseph; Cocchi, Linda; Colmars, Julien; Dionisi Vici, Paolo; et al. (July 2011). Experimental studies on the wooden support of the "Mona Lisa". The Safeguard of Cultural Heritage. A Challenge From the Past for the Europe of Tomorrow. COST strategic workshop. Florence. p. 367. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Was the 'Mona Lisa' Leonardo's Male Lover?". Artnet News. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. ^ Carrier, David (2006). Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries. Duke University Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8223-3694-5.
  13. ^ Charney, N.; Fincham, D.; Charney, U. (2011). The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: On Stealing the World's Most Famous Painting. Arca Publications. ISBN 978-0-615-51902-9. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Highest insurance valuation for a painting". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Value of 1962 US Dollars today – Inflation Calculator". www.inflationtool.com.