The Mona Lisa may be the most
famous painting in the world.
Housed in the Louvre in Paris
behind bulletproof glass,
it’s better-protected than some heads of state.
But… why?
The Mona Lisa was painted by the great Italian
artist Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519.
It spent some time in the care of King Francis
I of France and was part of France’s royal
collection…that is until the French Revolution
turned the royal collection into a public
collection.
The painting eventually found its home in the
Louvre — perhaps the most famous art museum
in the world - setting the stage for the strange
events that would make this one of the most
famous sorta-smiles in history.
The painting was highly regarded even
while Leonardo was still working on it,
but it wasn’t until later that it
became a universal symbol of great art.
During the 19th century, interest in the
Renaissance led to some… let’s say exaggerated
claims about both Leonardo and his model.
While modern scholars tend to see
Leonardo’s scientific achievements as small,
his inventive designs and “mirror-writing” notes
helped burnish a reputation for genius beyond
that of his peers.
Meanwhile, the identity of the Mona
Lisa herself became mythologized.
Often thought to be Lisa del Giocondo,
the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant,
the lack of commission from her husband has
raised doubts about the model’s identity.
Some have romanticized her
as a mysterious seductress.
One writer even accused her of being a vampire
who “has been dead many times and learned
the secrets of the grave.” —
probably metaphorically, but still.
The painting’s fame was galvanized in 1911
by another mystery — the Mona Lisa’s theft.
An employee of the Louvre, Vincenzo Peruggia,
along with two accomplices, stole the painting.
And for two years it was missing.
The story was a sensation, provoking
a feeling among the French people
that the work was a national
treasure that must be recovered.
When the painting was finally found in
Italy, it took a tour of that country
before returning home to the Louvre in triumph.
The Mona Lisa had become
an icon of the art world.
But to become the universally
recognized figure that it is today,
something else was required
— a touch of iconoclasm.
Some scholars believe that, by adding a
beard and moustache to the postcard featuring
the painting, French artist Marcel Duchamp
sealed the Mona Lisa’s place in history
by using that famous smile to take a playful
jab at the worship of so-called high art.
By the second half of the 20th century, when the
Mona Lisa toured the United States and Japan,
you’d be hard pressed to find anyone
who wasn’t familiar with the painting!
Today, the painting is once more safely behind
glass in the Louvre, where thousands of people
visit it every day.
And now you know why it’s so well-protected
— it’s been stolen before, and after all,
it’s only become more priceless since.
