Research Paper On Mona Lisa

Behind the Painting

In 1503, renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci, began working on the most famous painting in all of history known as the Mona Lisa. It hangs in The Louvre in Paris, France and is five hundred and twelve years old. The painting was finished in 1517, since then, people from all around the world have gone to see the art work. The Mona Lisa is impossible to duplicate; this report will focus on why that is.

It is believed that Francesco Del Giocondo, a wealthy silk merchant, requested that Da Vinci paint a portrait of his wife, Lisa Del Giocondo. Others believe it is Leonardo’s mother, Caterina, or that it was Leonardo disguising himself as a woman. The name “Mona Lisa” comes from Mona, which in Italian means ma’am or my lady, and Lisa was the name of the woman in the picture (Mona Lisa." Brewer 's Curious Titles. Ed. Ian Crofton. London: Chambers Harrap, 2002. Credo Reference. Web. 22 Sep 2015). Unlike other oil paintings that were typically painted on canvass, the Mona Lisa was painted on cottonwood panel. The piece is also considerably small, being that it is only thirty by twenty inches ("The Mona Lisa - by Leonardo Da Vinci." The Mona Lisa - by Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardodavinci.net, 2011. Web. 21 Sept.

He started a new era of art and showed artists that there were other ways to capture their subjects. Not only as an artist, but also as an inventor and writer, Da Vinci was able to shape history. His other works include “The Last Supper,” “Madonna of the Carnation,” “Virgin of the Rocks,” and “The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist.” ("Leonardo Da Vinci." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014. Credo Reference. Web. 22 Sep 2015.) Many think that Leonardo Da Vinci, and his work, will continue to influence lives for generations to come for a long