6 Interesting facts about the Mona Lisa painting
6 Facts about the Mona Lisa painting
- The woman in the painting is not named Mona Lisa
- The portrait of an Italian woman has lived all over France
- Italians have stolen the painting to try and return it to Italy
- Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire were accused of the theft
- Numerous vandalism attacks, yet Mona Lisa is still smiling!
- Mona Lisa visited America thanks to Jackie Kennedy
Stories and facts about Mona Lisa painting you probably didn’t know
You’ve probably heard of the Mona Lisa. Arguably the most famous painting in the world, this Renaissance masterpiece is a half-length portrait of a woman, painted by Leonardo da Vinci. At first glance, this painting might not seem noteworthy because it is small, subdued, and chiefly contains dark colors. However, this work of art is widely praised for its hyper-realistic portrayal of human features and the mysterious smile on the woman’s lips.
With so much recognition, the Mona Lisa has had a turbulent and exciting history, including many vandalism attempts, famous theft, and more. Continue reading and find out the most interesting facts about the Mona Lisa!
1. The woman in the painting is not named Mona Lisa
Most would assume that the name of a famous painting of a woman is also the real name of the woman in the painting. However, that’s not the case with the Mona Lisa.
It’s widely believed that the portrait displays an Italian noblewoman named Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant. Allegedly, her husband Francesco del Giocondo commissioned the painting of his wife to celebrate both their move into a new home and also the birth of their second son Andrea.
The painting’s name comes from the Italian word “Monna” – a polite form of address similar to “My lady” in English, and used exclusively for noblewomen. So, this article might as well be titled “Interesting facts about the Lisa del Giocondo” painting. An alternative name for the painting is “La Gioconda”. While this literally means “the jovial one” (which fits in with the woman’s smiling face), it’s also very likely that it was a pun on the Giocondo last name.
2. The portrait of an Italian woman has lived all over France
In 1516, King Francis I of France invited Leonardo da Vinci to his royal court. The painter accepted, and officially entered the king’s service, moving to the French town of Amboise with his belongings, his work, and his apprentice Salaì. Da Vinci passed away in France in 1519, and in his will he left the Mona Lisa to his young apprentice, who then sold it to Francis I for 4,000 gold coins. As such, the painting has chiefly remained in France. Originally owned by French royalty, the painting was initially housed at the Palace at Fontainebleau, a royal summer residence southeast of Paris. It was then moved to Versailles by Louis XIV, and would remain there until the French Revolution, when insurgents claimed the painting.
Napoleon Bonaparte then got his hands on the painting, and hung it in his bedroom in Tuileries Palace. It stayed there for about 4 years, but when Napoleon fell from power, in 1804, the famous painting finally found its final home: the Louvre Palace. It didn’t have to travel long for its last journey either – Tuileries Palace is directly in the west-front of the Louvre!
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3. Italians have stolen the painting to try and return it to Italy
In 1911, painter Louis Béroud arrived in the early morning to the Louvre, hoping to sketch the Mona Lisa. He arrived at an empty wall. So begins the story of the painting to be stolen from the Louvre. The previous night, Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian immigrant and patriot, had entered the Louvre and taken the Mona Lisa. The thief was actually a Louvre employee, and had worked on several paintings’ fitting glass at the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa. He easily removed the glass, took the painting, hid with it in a closet overnight, and ran off first thing in the morning.
Peruggia strongly believed the painting belonged to Italy as the work of famous Italian master Leonardo da Vinci. He hid the Mona Lisa in the false bottom of his trunk for two years, but was eventually captured in Florence when trying to sell the painting to Giovanni Poggi, art director of the Uffizi Gallery. Poggi immediately reported the painting to the local authorities, and the thief served six months in prison. However, he was simultaneously praised for his Italian patriotism.
4. Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire were accused of the theft
Despite living centuries after its composition, painter Pablo Picasso and poet Guillaume Apollinaire also join this list of facts about the Mona Lisa. When the painting was stolen, the police were offering a cash reward for any information. And Joseph Géry Pieret, a broke thief, anonymously tipped off a local newspaper that he had stolen small Iberian heads from the Louvre back in 1907. Pieret was Apollinaire’s secretary, and the writer moved in the same social circles as Picasso. Furthermore, these heads were in fact sold to Picasso, who was inspired by them when painting his “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”.
Picasso and Apollinaire immediately knew they’d come under questioning. To cover their tracks, they met up to throw the infamous Iberian heads into the Seine, but ultimately couldn’t bear to destroy such ancient artifacts. The police did arrest Apollinaire, and a panicked Apollinaire mentioned Picasso, who was then also brought in for questioning. For his part, Picasso denied he knew Apollinaire at all. In the courtroom, the two men came clean about the Iberian busts, and Apollinaire was held in prison for a few days, but ultimately both were released on account of lack of evidence for stealing the Mona Lisa itself.
5. Numerous vandalism attacks, yet Mona Lisa is still smiling!
Half a millennium after Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, the painting has done an amazing job of staying intact. You’ll be amazed by its resilience once you read about the attacks it has survived!
Throughout history, the Mona Lisa has been vandalized in some shape or form 7 times. Here’s the quick overview:
1956
- A vandal tried to cut down the Mona Lisa with a razor, claiming to be in love with the painting.
- A protester threw acid on the lower half of the painting during an exhibition in Montauban, but luckily avoided damaging it.
- An attacker threw a rock at the painting, shattering the glass and dislodging a pigment near the left elbow. Ever since then, bulletproof glass has been used to protect the painting.
1974
A woman in a wheelchair spray-painted the Mona Lisa with red paint, protesting the lack of accessibility for the disabled at the National Museum in Tokyo (the painting was a guest there). However, she only managed to paint the glass, not the painting itself.
2009
A Russian woman smashed a teacup against the glass protecting the Mona Lisa, and luckily didn’t harm the painting. The attack was allegedly out of anger; the woman had been denied French citizenship.
2022
A male activist for climate change, disguised as a woman in a wheelchair, threw and smeared a cake all over the Mona Lisa in a bid to raise awareness for climate change. Thankfully, he didn’t damage the painting.
2024
Environmental activists threw pumpkin soup at the Mona Lisa to raise awareness about the unsustainable food production and hunger in France, but only sprayed the glass and didn’t harm the painting itself.
Mona Lisa faced it all – except you!
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6. Mona Lisa visited America thanks to Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of the great American president John F. Kennedy, studied French literature and even spent her junior year at Paris’s Sorbonne University. Well-versed in French art, the First Lady spoke to France’s Minister of Culture while visiting Paris, and asked if the Mona Lisa could visit the United States. He said yes!
In December 1963, the famous portrait traveled to America in a temperature-controlled box via a huge ocean liner, with guards accompanying it every step of the way. Its first stop was the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, where over half a million people came to view the masterpiece and two armed Marines constantly stood watch. Afterward, the Mona Lisa journeyed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where even more people lined up to see it – over 1 million! Some visitors even waited for over 3 hours, desperate for what may have been a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the world-famous painting.
The world’s most talked-about painting
The Mona Lisa’s soft blending, hyper-realistic human features, and, of course, mysterious smile are all reasons the portrait is hailed as a world-class work of art. But there’s more than just artistic beauty there – there’s also a rich history, filled with interesting facts about the Mona Lisa. From its commission in the early 16th century to the recent 2024 attacks, the Mona Lisa has lived through so many locations and events, and they contribute just as much to her fame as the artwork. The painting is more than a painting – it’s a testament to how beauty can stand the test of time!
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