The Mona Lisa, Why So Famous
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Park University

The Famous Mona Lisa
Art has been around for thousands of years from the simple cave man drawings found around the world all the way through to today. From then till now there has been artist such has Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Cai Guo-Qiang, and James Turrell to name a few. Just like any artist they are perfectionists in their form of art put everything they have into each piece. Out of all the art that has survived in the world today none claim as much fame as the Mona Lisa. With her slight smile, natural pose, and the mystery of which she truly is, why is she the most famous portrait in the world? The Mona Lisa, circa 1503-1506, is thought to be the wife of a wealthy silk merchant Francesco del Giocond, whose wife is named Lisa del Giocondo (Martin Mészáros). Mona is an archaic Italian word for lady or madam, hence the name Mona Lisa (Sassoon). The problem of her Identity comes from the fact that during this time it was a requirement by the Italian government to provide detailed finances, which also includes expenses and there has been no transaction or record of such a purchase by Francesco del Giocondo (Martin Mészáros). It was acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at The Louvre museum in Paris since 1797 (Hoobler). The Mona Lisa’s sky rocket to fame happened in 1911 when an employee of the Louvre stole the painting (Hoobler). Vincenzo Peruggia was a contractor for the Louvre and was an Italian revolutionist who believed that Leonardo’s work belonged back in Italy instead of France (Hoobler). He kept it hidden for 2 years and during this time papers all around the world had articles posted with a picture of the Mona Lisa about the theft (Hoobler). Also another painting of the Mona Lisa was discovered, known as the Isleworth Mona Lisa (Martin Mészáros). There were a few differences in the painting though, it was unfinished on the landscaping and in the picture there are pillars on either side of her where the original did not have. So who is this new Mona Lisa? There are mixed concerns about it, most say it is a fake, others say it was also painted by Leonardo. Through tests conducted in 2012, on the technology side, all tests lead to that both Mona Lisa’s were painted by Leonardo himself (Martin Mészáros). There is still some controversy on this matter but all of this has led to the popularity of the portrait in today’s society and used in so many venues as a form of advertisement and creative muse. The Mona Lisa is a star that has no rival; there are movies and advertising around the world that use her image. Dan Browns Movie the Da Vinci code is one such movie where there is a cult that believes Da Vinci had hidden clues in all of his paintings about certain truths. The painting is reproduced on a massive scale for sale around the world, but other artists also ad there twists to the piece of work by changing themes. One such theme in 2007 was done by Caroline Shotton, who took famous pieces of work throughout history and used