the Mona Lisa quick facts
- Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa between about 1503 and 1519.
- It is painted on a poplar wood panel, not canvas.
- It is only 79.4 cm tall and 53.4 cm wide.
- The sitter was probably Lisa Gherardini of Florence.
- The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911.
What is the Mona Lisa?
The Mona Lisa is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Britannica calls it probably the world’s most famous painting.
It shows a woman from the waist up, sitting in front of a distant landscape of valleys, rivers and hills. She is turned partly towards us, with her hands folded and a faint smile on her face.
Leonardo painted it with oil paint on a wooden panel made of poplar, sometime between 1503 and 1519. Today it hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
| The Mona Lisa at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Leonardo da Vinci |
| Painted | about 1503 to 1519 |
| Materials | oil paint on a poplar wood panel |
| Size | 79.4 cm tall and 53.4 cm wide |
| Sitter | probably Lisa Gherardini, a woman from Florence |
| Where it is | the Louvre Museum, Paris, room 711 |
| French names | La Joconde; in Italian, La Gioconda |
Who painted the Mona Lisa?
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Britannica says he was born on 15 April 1452, near the town of Vinci in the Republic of Florence, in what is now Italy.
Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His notebooks are full of drawings of machines, the human body, plants and water, and they show a mind that was centuries ahead of its time.
When he was about 15, his father sent him to learn from the artist Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. There he learned painting and sculpture, as well as practical and mechanical skills.
Leonardo’s most famous paintings are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, which he painted between 1495 and 1498.
Leonardo’s life in Milan
In 1482, Leonardo left Florence and moved to Milan to work for the city’s ruler, Duke Ludovico Sforza. Britannica says he ran a large workshop there, with apprentices and pupils, including Salaì.
Leonardo spent many years in Milan. He painted, designed buildings and machines, and filled notebook after notebook with ideas.
Even as a young man, Leonardo made many technical sketches, of pumps, weapons and other machines. Britannica says these drawings show his interest in how things work from the very start of his career.
He later returned to Florence, and it was there, in about 1503, that he began work on the Mona Lisa.
Leonardo’s Life
- 1452 — Leonardo is born near Vinci, in the Republic of Florence
- About 15 — His age when he starts training with the artist Verrocchio
- 1482 — He moves to Milan to work for Duke Ludovico Sforza
- 1495 to 1498 — He paints the Last Supper
- Salaì — One of his pupils
Who was Mona Lisa?
Nobody knows for certain who the woman in the painting was. The most likely answer is Lisa Gherardini, who was born in Florence in 1479 and died in 1542. She would have been about 24 when Leonardo began the painting.
The Louvre says she was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant in Florence. That is why the painting is also called La Gioconda in Italian and La Joconde in French.
The word Mona is a short form of Madonna, an old Italian way of saying “my lady”. So Mona Lisa simply means “Lady Lisa”.
This identity was first suggested in 1550 by Giorgio Vasari, who wrote about the lives of artists. Britannica notes that other people have had different ideas, for example that the painting shows Leonardo’s mother, or even Leonardo himself. Attempts to settle the question using DNA have not given an answer.
When and where was it painted?
Britannica says Leonardo began painting the Mona Lisa in about 1503, when he was living in Florence, a city in Italy famous for its art and buildings.
He did not finish it quickly. He worked on it on and off for many years, adding layer after layer of thin, see-through paint.
The Louvre says Leonardo kept the painting with him for the rest of his life and was still working on it when he died in 1519. In a way, he never thought it was finished.
Look closely at the painting and you would see tiny cracks all over the paint, called craquelure. Britannica says they are finer on the hands, where Leonardo painted the thinnest layers late in his life.
How Leonardo painted it
The Mona Lisa changed the way portraits were painted. In Italy at the time, people were usually shown from the side, in profile. Leonardo turned his sitter partly towards the viewer, and this three-quarter view soon became the normal way to paint a portrait.
He also used a technique called sfumato, an Italian word linked to smoke. Instead of sharp outlines, he blended light and shadow so gently that the edges seem to melt away, like smoke.
Oil paint made this possible. Unlike tempera, an older paint that dries quickly, oil paint could be brushed on in very thin, see-through layers. Britannica says Leonardo’s understanding of the muscles and bones under the skin helped him make the face look soft and real.
Britannica says the delicate veil over her hair, the fine curls and the careful folds of her clothes all show Leonardo’s patience and close observation.
Even the landscape links to the woman. The curves of her hair and clothes are echoed in the winding rivers and valleys behind her.
Looking Closely at the Mona Lisa
- Three-quarter view — The sitter is turned partly towards the viewer
- Profile — The side view Italian portraits used before
- Craquelure — Tiny cracks all over the paint
- The veil, curls and folds — Show Leonardo's patience and close observation
The famous smile
The Mona Lisa’s faint smile is one of the most talked-about features in all of art. Some people think she looks happy, others think she looks sad or secretive.
Many people say the smile seems to change as you look at it. The soft, blurry shadows around her mouth and eyes, created with sfumato, make her expression hard to pin down.
Britannica says the overall harmony of the painting, especially the smile, reflects Leonardo’s idea of a deep link between people and nature.
How the Mona Lisa came to France
Late in his life, Leonardo moved to France to work at the court of King Francis I. He died there, at Cloux, on 2 May 1519.
The Louvre says the painting was very probably bought by Francis I in 1518. Records show that the king paid Leonardo’s pupil, Salaì, a large sum for some painted panels that year.
The Mona Lisa became part of the French royal collection. During the French Revolution it became the property of the French people.
Sources give slightly different dates for when it arrived at the Louvre. The Louvre’s own record says it has been there since 1793, while Britannica says it was put in the Louvre around 1800, after hanging for a while in Napoleon’s bedroom.
The day it was stolen
In August 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. The thief was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian man who had worked at the museum.
The painting was missing for more than two years. It was finally found in Italy and returned to the Louvre.
Britannica says the theft is one of the reasons the Mona Lisa became so famous, because newspapers around the world reported the story. So did a trip the painting made to the United States in 1963, when huge crowds came to see it.
Visiting the Mona Lisa today
The Mona Lisa hangs in a room of the Louvre’s Denon Wing called the Salle de la Joconde, room 711. It is kept behind bulletproof glass.
Britannica says millions of people visit the Louvre each year, and most of them come to see the Mona Lisa. Many are surprised by how small it is: only 79.4 cm tall and 53.4 cm wide.
The painting is priceless, which means nobody could ever put a fair price on it. Britannica explains that the Louvre would never sell it, and that the museum spends money on protecting it rather than on insurance, because no amount of money could replace it.
The Mona Lisa’s Journey
- About 1503 Leonardo begins the portrait.
- 1518 King Francis I of France very probably buys it.
- 1519 Leonardo dies at Cloux, in France.
- The French Revolution The royal collection, with the Mona Lisa, becomes the property of the French people.
- 1911 The painting is stolen from the Louvre.
- 1963 It travels to the United States, and huge crowds come to see it.
Why is the Mona Lisa so famous?
There is no single reason. Britannica says its fame comes from many chance events, such as the 1911 theft and the 1963 trip, combined with the painting’s own beauty and mystery.
It was also a new kind of portrait for its time, and artists copied its pose and style for centuries. Add the mysterious smile and the unknown identity of the sitter, and you have a painting people never tire of talking about.
Three things people get wrong
The Mona Lisa is not painted on canvas. It is painted on a wooden panel made of poplar.
We do not know for certain who she was. Lisa Gherardini is the most likely sitter, but it has never been proven.
It was not painted in France. Leonardo began it in Florence, Italy, and only later took it to France.
Did you know? Mona is a short form of Madonna, an old Italian way of saying “my lady”, so Mona Lisa means “Lady Lisa”.
The Mona Lisa: Fact or Myth?
- The Mona Lisa is painted on canvas.
- The painting is also known as La Gioconda.
- We know for certain who the woman in the painting was.
- Leonardo began the Mona Lisa in Florence.
- The Mona Lisa is a huge painting, several metres tall.
- The Mona Lisa is kept behind bulletproof glass.
- Leonardo finished the painting quickly.
- The Mona Lisa is painted in oil paint.
Try it
Draw a face twice: once with sharp outlines, and once blending the shadows softly with your finger. Which looks more lifelike? That softness is sfumato.
Knowledge check
Who painted the Mona Lisa?
Show answer
Leonardo da Vinci.
What is sfumato?
Show answer
A way of blending light and shadow so softly that edges seem to melt away, like smoke.
Frequently asked questions
Who painted the Mona Lisa?
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. He was born near Vinci, in the Republic of Florence, in 1452 and died in France in 1519.
Who is the woman in the Mona Lisa?
She is probably Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florence silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Her identity has never been proven for certain.
Where is the Mona Lisa now?
The Mona Lisa hangs behind bulletproof glass in the Salle de la Joconde, room 711, in the Denon Wing of the Louvre Museum in Paris.
How big is the Mona Lisa?
The Mona Lisa is 79.4 cm tall and 53.4 cm wide. Many visitors are surprised by how small it is compared with its fame.
When was the Mona Lisa stolen?
The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in August 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia. It was found in Italy more than two years later and returned.
Why is the Mona Lisa famous?
Its fame comes from Leonardo’s skill, the mysterious smile, the unknown sitter, and events such as the 1911 theft and its 1963 trip to the United States.
Sources
- Louvre Museum collections: portrait of Lisa Gherardini, known as the Mona Lisa — title, dates, poplar panel, size, sitter, purchase by Francis I, location and date at the Louvre
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mona Lisa — description, dates, sitter theories, technique, sfumato, the smile, fame, theft, bulletproof glass and value
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Leonardo da Vinci — birth and death, training with Verrocchio, skills and famous works
Mona Lisa Final Challenge
- Who was most likely the woman in the painting?
- Who first suggested, in 1550, that the sitter was Lisa Gherardini?
- Which other person has been suggested as the sitter?
- What happened when people tried to settle the question using DNA?
- In which wing of the Louvre does the Mona Lisa hang?
- Who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911?
