Mona Lisa

We’ve heard of Mona Lisa so often, but we didn’t really know the exact meaning behind the name

"Mona" means "madonna" — lady. "Lisa" is the woman's name.

Mona Lisa was Lady Lisa.

Her husband commissioned the portrait from Da Vinci.

When Da Vinci arrived at her home, he found her dressed in black, crying.

He asked what was wrong. She had recently lost a daughter.

He couldn't paint a woman like that. So he told her stories, played music for her, made her laugh. And he painted her in that moment. That's the version that's come down to us over five hundred years.

But there are many other theories.

A lot of people say she has a man's face.

When someone compared this painting with Da Vinci's self-portrait, the features matched almost perfectly.

That's why there were rumors he painted himself.

Then there's Salaì — Da Vinci's assistant. He's the same face that appears in John the Baptist.

And Mona Lisa looks a lot like him! Did Da Vinci paint her with Salaì in mind?

That's where the theory that Da Vinci was homosexual comes from.

But the official version is that it's Lady Lisa.

Now look at the smile. Why does it seem to change depending on how you look at it? It's the sfumato applied to the corners of the eyes and the mouth. Da Vinci blurred those areas with his fingers. And that blurring creates an ambiguity no other technique can achieve.

And the eyebrows — she has none.

Nobody knows why.

But there are three theories. In the Florence of that time, a wide forehead was a symbol of beauty.

Maybe Da Vinci removed the eyebrows to make the forehead more prominent.

Another theory: the painting turned out so well that he didn't want to hand it over to Madam Lisa. So he kept procrastinating, leaving the eyebrows for last, without ever actually painting them

And a third: eyebrows define the expression. Without them, the face is open, ambiguous. Maybe it was a deliberate choice to maintain that mystery.

And the truth is none of these theories can be confirmed.

Da Vinci left no diary, no notes. Everything is speculation — rumors that have grown over the centuries.

And there lies part of the secret of her fame. Mona Lisa is famous for being a masterpiece. But it's also famous because nobody can stop asking questions about her. Some say it's the greatest marketing success in the history of art.

And maybe they're right.

Look at the composition. The figure fits inside a triangle. The background is a landscape that doesn't exist anywhere real. Probably Da Vinci's inner world.

And the hands. They are anatomically perfect hands.

Da Vinci dissected cadavers.

He knew the human body better than any other painter of his time. That's why nobody could match his precision.

So why is it in France and not Italy?

Napoleon didn't steal it.

It was bought by the French king Francis I.

Francis I deeply admired Da Vinci. So much that he invited Da Vinci to live in France when Da Vinci was already over sixty.

Da Vinci accepted.

He came to France with everything — John the Baptist, the Virgin of the Rocks, Mona Lisa!

Francis I prepared a house for him right next to his own castle.

Da Vinci lived there happily until he died at sixty-seven.

A lot of people think he's buried in Italy. Not so. His tomb is in France —

at the Château d'Amboise, about three hours south of Paris.

Take all the time you need with Mona Lisa.