Most people will easily be able to recognize the painting above, the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. It is perhaps the most famous and well-known portrait painting in the world. But how much do you really know about it? Here are some interesting facts behind the woman with the very famous smile--and a few will most likely surprise you!
#1 The woman's name who posed for the painting, was actually not "Mona Lisa." The woman is commonly believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Fransesco del Giocondo, a wealthy Florentine silk merchant, who commisioned her portrait to be painted. The title name, Mona Lisa, roughly translates to, "My Lady Lisa."
#2 Leonardo da Vinci, was an Italian artist who lived from 1452-1519. He was perhaps one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance period, but he was also an inventor, a scientist, a vegetarian, and oh, yeah, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is named after him! You can learn more about Leonardo here if you like.
#3 The artwork may be a painting, but it is actually not on a canvas. Instead it is painted on a poplar plank. Many artists during the Renaissance period preferred painting on wood for smaller art pieces.
#4 The painting may be larger than life in the art world, but in the real world, it is actually of relatively small stature--measuring only 21x30 inches.
#5 The type of painting method used is known as "sfumato," which is a technique that uses fine shading to produce a soft transition between colors, thus achieving a more believable and realistic image.
#6 The Mona Lisa is essentially considered priceless, and is technically owned by the Government of France. It cannot be bought or sold, according to French heritage law.
#7 Mona actually "hung out"with several famous people at different times of her life. She resided in King Francois I's French palace, Fontainebleau, for about a century. Then Louis XIV took her to live in his Palace of Versailles. At the end of the 19th century, she even spent some time with Napoleon Bonaparte.
#8 She once traveled to the United States! Very rarely have French officials let Mona leave France, but former First Lady Jackie Kennedy asked if the painting could visit the U.S., and the president of France at that time, Charles de Gaulle, agreed. It was dsiplayed for a brief time at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. You can read more about her trip here.
#9 Mona has had a fairly tumultous life in the Louvre Museum in France, In 1911, she was stolen from the museum and not returned until 2 years later. Thousands of vistors came just to see the empty space on the wall where she once resided. In 1956, she was pelted with a rock, and also had acid thrown at her. There is a very faint amount of damage still visible due to this attack. She is now protected by bulletproof glass.
And, last but not least... Mona actually receives fan mail. Yes, it is true. She even has her own mailbox at the Louvre. Over the years, she has received plenty of love letters from admirers all around the world, as well as bouquets of flowers.
Want to see the Mona Lisa close up?? Well, now you can--without even having to pay for a plane ticket and travel to Europe! The Louvre Museum has a great website just about this famous painting. Click here, then click the black arrow button in the middle of the page. To look close up and navigate the site, use the 3 small lines along the right side of the page.
Hopefully you've enjoyed learning some facts about the painting, the artist who created it, and the woman who posed for it. And now you also know that she, Lady Lisa, with her very famous smile, is really the one behind it all.
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