Mona Lisa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mona Lisa

Italian: La Gioconda, French: La Joconde
Artist	Leonardo da Vinci
Year	c. 1503–1506
Type	Oil on poplar
Dimensions	77 cm × 53 cm (30 in × 21 in)
Location	Musée du Louvre, Paris

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) is a sixteenth-century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel in Florence, Italy by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci during the Renaissance. The work is currently owned by the Government of France and is on display at the Louvre museum in Paris under the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.^[1] Arguably, it is the most famous and iconic painting in the world.
The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose facial expression is frequently described as enigmatic.^[2][3] Others believe that the slight smile is an indication that the subject is hiding a secret. The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.^[1] In 1911, it was stolen and copied; the copies were sold as the genuine painting. It was recovered in 1913.^[4]

• more.....