The Mona Lisa: Leonardo da Vinci’s Timeless Enigma
The Mona Lisa is proof that even in the 1500s, people knew how to nail the perfect selfie.
She's been smiling at the world for more than 500 years, and we still can't quite work out what she's thinking. Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting on Earth: a small portrait with an enormous story.
Who Was Mona Lisa?
The sitter is generally identified as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. That's why the painting is also known as La Gioconda in Italian and La Joconde in French. "Mona" is a shortened form of "Madonna", meaning "my lady".
Leonardo began the portrait around 1503 but never delivered it. He kept it with him for years, continuing to refine it, possibly until shortly before his death in 1519.
The Magic of Sfumato
Leonardo perfected a technique called sfumato, from the Italian for "smoke". Instead of sharp outlines, colours and tones melt softly into one another, especially around the corners of the eyes and mouth. This gives Lisa's face its lifelike softness and makes her expression seem to shift as you look at it.
Behind her, a dreamlike landscape of winding paths, rivers and hazy mountains stretches into the distance, using a technique called atmospheric perspective, where faraway objects fade into blue-grey haze.
That Smile
The Mona Lisa's smile is neither clearly happy nor sad. Many people notice that it seems to appear when they look at her eyes and fade when they look directly at her mouth, partly thanks to how our peripheral vision picks up those soft shadows. That elusive quality has sparked endless theories and interpretations.
A New Kind of Portrait
Unlike the stiff, profile portraits common in her day, Lisa sits in a relaxed three-quarter pose, hands gently folded, looking directly at us. It feels intimate and alive, and it influenced portrait painting for centuries.
A Life Full of Drama
- She once hung in Napoleon's bedroom. See our 10 Funniest Art Facts From History.
- In 1911 she was stolen from the Louvre by a museum handyman and not recovered for two years. The theft made her an international celebrity.
- She has survived attacks with stones, paint, cake and soup, and now sits behind protective glass.
Today she hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where millions visit every year, and she's surprisingly small: about 77 × 53 cm.
Stitching the Mona Lisa
Recreating Leonardo's soft shading in thread is a rewarding challenge. Read about the experience in Stitching the Mona Lisa in Cross Stitch. Want something quicker? Try the circular Mona Lisa kit or a miniature.
Love Leonardo? Read about The Last Supper and its hidden stories, or meet another mysterious portrait, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Recreate the world's most famous smile in thread.
Or explore the full Leonardo da Vinci collection.
