Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa (1503)

The Mona Lisa or La Gioconda, French: La Joconde is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”.

The painting, thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel, and is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506. 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, on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797.

The subject’s expression, which is frequently described as enigmatic, the monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.

From the collection of: The Art Institute of Chicago

Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Nationality: Italian, 1452 – 1519
Title: The Mona Lisa
Date Created: between 1503 and 1506
Credit Line: Louvre Museum in Paris