La mona lisa

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo[1]) is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oilon a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519. Property of the French State, it is on permanent display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seatedwoman, Lisa del Giocondo, whose facial expression has been frequently described as enigmatic.[2] The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling offorms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.[1] The image is widely recognised, caricatured, and sought out byvisitors to the Louvre, and it is considered the most famous painting in the world.[3][4]
Leonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy.[5] According to Da Vinci'scontemporary, Giorgio Vasari, "...after he had lingered over it four years, left it unfinished...."[6] It is known that such behavior is common in most paintings of Leonardo who, later in his life,regretted "never having completed a single work".[7]
He is thought to have continued to work on Mona Lisa for three years after he moved to France and to have finished it shortly before he died in1519.[8] Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter to work at the Clos Lucé near the king's castle in Amboise. Most likely through the heirs ofLeonardo's assistant Salai,[9] the king bought the painting for 4,000 écus and kept it at Château Fontainebleau, where it remained until given to Louis XIV. Louis XIV moved the painting to the Palace ofVersailles. After the French Revolution, it was moved to the Louvre. Napoleon I had it moved to his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace; later it was returned to the Louvre. During the Franco-Prussian War...