Detail of Lisa's hands, her right hand resting on her left. Leonardo chose this gesture rather than a wedding ring to depict Lisa as a virtuous woman and faithful wife.
Detail of the background (right side)
QUOTES
"The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world".
"The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile has inspired many writers, singers, and painters".
"In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by a Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who thought the painting should be returned to Italy for display. He kept the painting in his apartment for two years before he was caught trying to sell it to a gallery in Florence".
"The Mona Lisa is now the property of France. It is on permanent display in Paris at the Louvre museum. Millions of visitors come to Paris every year to see the enigmatic smile on Mona Lisa’s lips".
"In the late 1950s, the Mona Lisa was the subject of several attempts at vandalism. The painting did suffer damage from these attacks. Thanks to modern technology, though, the Mona Lisa is now protected by bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled environment".
VIDEO
"The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world".
"The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile has inspired many writers, singers, and painters".
"In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by a Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who thought the painting should be returned to Italy for display. He kept the painting in his apartment for two years before he was caught trying to sell it to a gallery in Florence".
"The Mona Lisa is now the property of France. It is on permanent display in Paris at the Louvre museum. Millions of visitors come to Paris every year to see the enigmatic smile on Mona Lisa’s lips".
"In the late 1950s, the Mona Lisa was the subject of several attempts at vandalism. The painting did suffer damage from these attacks. Thanks to modern technology, though, the Mona Lisa is now protected by bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled environment".
VIDEO