Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa also known as 'La Gioconda'. Portrait of Lisa Gherardini 1504

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Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa also known as 'La Gioconda'. Portrait of Lisa Gherardini 1504

Mona Lisa also known as 'La Gioconda'. Portrait of Lisa Gherardini 1504
77x53cm oil on panel
Louvre, Paris, France
The image is only being used for informational and educational purposes

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From Louvre, Paris:
This portrait was doubtless started in Florence around 1503. It is thought to be of Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo - hence the alternative title, La Gioconda. However, Leonardo seems to have taken the completed portrait to France rather than giving it to the person who commissioned it. After his death, the painting entered François I's collection.
The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear are the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection.
The portrait may have been painted to mark one of two events - either when Francesco del Giocondo and his wife bought their own house in 1503, or when their second son, Andrea, was born in December 1502 after the death of a daughter in 1499. The delicate dark veil that covers Mona Lisa's hair is sometimes considered a mourning veil. In fact, such veils were commonly worn as a mark of virtue. Her clothing is unremarkable. Neither the yellow sleeves of her gown, nor her pleated gown, nor the scarf delicately draped round her shoulders are signs of aristocratic status.