ID: 700000213 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700000213	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

Mona Lisa (painting (visual work); Leonardo da Vinci (Italian painter, draftsman, scientist, 14...; 1503/1506; Louvre Museum (Paris, Île-de-France, France);)

Note: Half-length portrait of a seated woman, thought to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work. The Mona Lisa's famous smile may be emblematic of the sitter’s name, in the same way that the juniper branches represent Ginevra Benci and the ermine represents Cecilia Gallerani in other portraits: it is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word "gioconda" in Italian. This portrait was painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506. However, Leonardo seems to have taken the portrait to France rather than giving it to the person who commissioned it. According to contemporary biographer Giorgio Vasari, the artist lingered over the portrait for four years and ultimately left it unfinished. It was eventually returned to Italy by Leonardo's student and heir Salai. It is not known how the painting came to be in François I's collection.

Titles:

Mona Lisa (preferred,C,U,RP,Italian-P,U,U,English-P,U,U,French-P,U,U)

Portrait of Lisa Gherardini (C,U,DE,English,U,U)

الموناليزا (C,U,Arabic,U,U)

蒙娜丽莎 (C,U,Chinese,U,U)

La Joconde (C,U,French,U,U)

Μόνα Λίζα (C,U,Greek,U,U)

La Gioconda (C,U,Italian,U,U,undetermined,U,U)

モナ・リザ (C,U,Japanese,U,U)

Monna Lisa (C,U,undetermined,U,U)

Mona Lisa - Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo (C,U,undetermined,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

painting (visual work) [300033618] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

oil painting (visual work) [300033799]

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>, paintings (visual works), <paintings by material or technique>)

Classifications:

paintings (preferred)

Creation Date: 1503/1506

Creator Display:

Leonardo da Vinci (Italian painter, draftsman, scientist, 1452-1519) [preferred,VP]

painter Leonardo da Vinci (Italian painter, draftsman, scientist, 1452-1519) [500010879]

Locations:

Current: Louvre Museum (Paris, Île-de-France, France) [500125189] Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Creation: Firenze [7000457] Firenze province (province), Tuscany (region (administrative division)), Italy (nation), Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: oil on poplar panel

	oil paint (paint) [300015050]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>, paint (coating), <paint by composition or origin>)

	poplar (wood) [300012363]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, plant material, <wood and wood by product>, wood (plant material), <wood by composition or origin>, hardwood)

	panel (wood by form) [300014657]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, plant material, <wood and wood by product>, wood (plant material), <wood by form or function>)

Dimensions: 77 x 53 cm (30 3/8 x 20 7/8 inches)

Cultures:

Florentine (preferred)

Italian

Style/Period/Group/Movement:

	Renaissance [300021140] (preferred,N/A)
	.....(Styles and Periods Facet, Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), <styles| periods| and cultures by region>, European, <Renaissance-Baroque styles and periods>)

General Subject:

portraits (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	Gherardini, Lisa (Italian sitter, 1479-after 1539) [500341678]
	.....(Non-Artists) (ULAN)

	human females [300025943]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by gender or sex>) (AAT)

	portraits, single-sitter [300404138]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by subject type>, portraits) (AAT)

	half-length figures [300047469]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by subject type>, figures (representations), <figures by portion represented>) (AAT)

Provenance: Acquired by François I in 1518.

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
Mona Lisa	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-) accessed 28 March 2014
	........ Grove Art Online (2008-) accessed 28 March 2014
Portrait of Lisa Gherardini	........ [VP]
	........ Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art (1979)
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-) accessed 28 March 2014
الموناليزا	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
蒙娜丽莎	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
La Joconde	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
Μόνα Λίζα	........ [VP]
	........ Magi, Tutta Parigi. Ediz. greca (1987)
La Gioconda	........ [VP]
	........ Grove Art Online (2008-)
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-) accessed 28 March 2014
モナ・リザ	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
Monna Lisa	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
	........ Grove Art Online (2008-)
Mona Lisa - Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo	........ [VP]
	........ Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-) accessed 28 March 2014

Subject: ....... [VP]

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... Musée du Louvre [online] (2000-)
	..... Grove Art Online (2008-)
	..... Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art (1979)