Some people believed that the Mona Lisa was Leonardo Da Vinci’s mother.  Others say the painting was a portrait of, “merchant Francesco Giocondo’s wife” (Mona Lisa History). Then there are some theories that Da Vinci used his facial features but painted a woman.

The Mona Lisa is on permanent display at the Louvre in Paris, France. The Mona Lisa is a half portrait oil painting of a lady.  This is a very old painting because it was painted between 1503 and 1519. The Mona Lisa is the most visited painting in the entire world!  The Mona Lisa was done by Italian painter Leonardo Da Vinci. The painting is beautiful, but the main reason the Mona Lisa became famous was because one time the Mona Lisa was stolen.  Everybody was trying to find the painting, and so everybody knew what the Mona Lisa was.  One thing about the Mona Lisa that I found really interesting was that her identity is a mystery.  There are many theories but no one really knows for sure. Her smile is also eye catching!  That leads me into my next paragraph. How did Mona Lisa’s smile come to play?

Mona Lisa’s smile is eye-catching but oddly unique at the same time. Scientists at Sheffield Hallam University call the painting, “The uncatchable smile, because of her “now you see me now you don’t” type of smile. The reason why her smile has that name is that people don’t know if she’s sad or happy, or both.  Scientists researched and found out that 97% of the people they asked said that she’s happy but is she really (Art World)? On multiple websites, they said the mouth is an unconscious memory of his mom, Catrina.

Most people that have looked at the Mona Lisa probably wonder, “who is the Mona Lisa”? This is crazy but it’s still in ongoing investigation! Some historians believe that she is Leonardo’s Da Vinci’s mom posing for the portrait.  Then others say it’s Da Vinci’s facial expressions but on a woman’s body to create an ongoing “riddle.” Scientists found out that the painting is kind of like Leonardo’s other painting called La Bella Principessa. Both of these paintings have the now you see me, now you don’t effect on the mouth. This investigation was driving historians and scientist so crazy that they even opened up tombs of the Giocondo family to test their DNA, and try to recreate Francesco Giocondo’s wife face. The most common theory for her identity is that the painting is supposed to look like a merchant, Francesco Giocondo’s wife.  

Before I researched the Mona Lisa I didn’t really see what made it that special or unique.  But then I watched the movie, “The Da Vinci Code” and found it very interesting.  If you want to look research more about the Mona Lisa check out Mona Lisa History, Scientist Discover  Legendary Secret Behind the ‘Mona Lisa’ Smile, and 10 facts you didn’t know about the Mona Lisa.