On the morning of August 22 1911, Louvre employees were shocked to discover that the painting was stolen the previous night. From 1797, the portrait is on permanent display at the Louvre and is the crown jewel of the museum collection. Leonardo spent his final years in France, where his patron the King of France, Francis I, purchased Mona Lisa for the royal French collection. 1470-1472) and Man with a Roman coin (ca. Still it is important to note that Leonardo was indebted to Flemish portraiture of the second half of the 15th century, particularly the portraits of Hans Memling such as Portrait of Barbara van Vlaendenbergh (ca. This significant innovation influenced Leonardo contemporaries: Raphael adopted the composition and pose in his portrait Young Woman with Unicorn (ca. The incorporation of the loggia allowed Leonardo to present an imaginary landscape as the backdrop of the portrait. Leonardo presented a new artistic formula: the figure is shown at half-length sitting in armchair in front of a loggia - a gallery or room with one or more open sides. The Mona Lisa was the earliest example in Italian portraiture that portrayed the sitter in a half-length format. In the note dated October 1503, Vespucci praises Leonardo’s skill by comparing him to the Greek and painter Apelles, and states that Leonardo is working on a portrait of Lisa del Giacondo. In a volume written by the ancient philosopher Cicero from 1477, there was a handwritten marginal by Leonardo’s contemporary, the secretary and assistant to Niccolò Machiavelli, Agostino Vespucci. Many were skeptical of Vasari’s account however, a 2005 discovery at the University of Heidelberg provided compelling new evidence that confirms Vasari’s assertion. In Vasari’s 1550 biography of Leonardo, he wrote about the magnificent portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, which Leonardo worked on between 15. The earliest identification of the painting was provided by the Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari.

For this reason, the painting is sometimes called La Gioconda.

It is thought that the sitter was Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The interest in the portrait was further amplified by its mysterious history: the identity of the sitter, who commissioned the painting, how long Leonardo worked on the portrait and how it entered the French royal collection are all topics of scholarly debate. This depth and complexity of expression is the reason the Mona Lisa is regarded as the pinnacle of portraiture. This was achieved through sfumato, Leonardo’s painting technique that softened the transition between colors. The unique appeal of the portrait lies in its enigmatic nature, Mona Lisa’s smile radiates mystery, sensuality and contentment. One of the most iconic and recognizable paintings in the world is the Mona Lisa (ca.

The mona lisa