Mona Lisa painting

Mona Lisa painting

Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde), is a 16th century oil painting on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is one of the most famous paintings in the world, and few other works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody. It is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris. The painting, a half-length portrait, depicts a woman whose gaze meets the viewer's with an expression often described as enigmatic.It is considered by many to be Leonardo's magnum opus.

Naming the Mona Lisa

The title Mona Lisa stems from the Giorgio Vasari biography of Leonardo da Vinci, published 31 years after Leonardo's death. In it, he identified the sitter as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of wealthy Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo. Mona was a common Italian contraction of madonna, meaning my lady, the equivalent of the English Madam, so the title means Madam Lisa.
In modern Italian, the short form of madonna is usually spelled Monna, so the title is sometimes given as Monna Lisa. This is rare in English, but more common in Romance languages such as French and Italian.
The alternative title, La Gioconda, is the feminine form of Giocondo. In Italian, giocondo also means light-hearted (jocund in English), so gioconda means light-hearted woman, or the joyful one. Because of her smile, this version of the title plays on this double meaning, as does the French La Joconde.
Both Mona Lisa and La Gioconda became established as titles for this painting in the 19th century. Before these names became established, the painting had been referred to by various descriptive phrases, such as "a certain Florentine lady" and "a courtesan in a gauze veil".