Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa is proof that even in the 1500s, people knew how to nail the perfect selfie.

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painted by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It's considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance and is often called "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 is famous for the subject's mysterious smile, the grand composition, the detailed modeling of forms, and the lifelike atmosphere.

The painting is believed to show an Italian noblewoman named Lisa del Giocondo. It's painted in oil on a white poplar panel. Leonardo did not give the painting to Lisa's family. It was likely created between 1503 and 1506, although Leonardo may have worked on it until 1517. After Leonardo died in 1519, King Francis I of France acquired the Mona Lisa, and it now belongs to the French Republic. It has been displayed at the Louvre in Paris since 1797.

The painting became even more famous after it was stolen in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia, who believed it should be in Italy. The theft and its recovery in 1914 received a lot of attention and led to many cultural references, including a 1915 opera named "Mona Lisa," two early 1930s films, and the song "Mona Lisa" recorded by Nat King Cole, which became very popular in the 1950s.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest painting insurance valuation in history, at $100 million in 1962, which is equivalent to about $1 billion in 2023.

Source: Wikipedia