Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci
The most recognised portrait in the world, and the benchmark against which the handling of irreplaceable panel paintings is measured.
- Artist
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Date
- c. 1503–1519
- Medium
- Oil on poplar panel
- Dimensions
- 77 × 53 cm
- Location
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
History
What the record shows
Begun in Florence around 1503, the portrait is generally identified as Lisa Gherardini, wife of the silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Leonardo carried the panel with him for the rest of his life, reworking it over more than a decade.
The painting's fame accelerated after it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia, a museum employee who believed it belonged in Italy. Its two-year absence, and the international press coverage that followed, made it a global icon.
It now travels only in exceptional circumstances. Its poplar support is dimensionally sensitive, and every movement is conducted inside a sealed, climate-stabilised case under continuous monitoring.
Provenance
Chain of ownership
- 01Commissioned in Florence, c. 1503
- 02Taken to France by Leonardo, 1516; acquired by François I
- 03French royal collections, Fontainebleau and Versailles
- 04Musée du Louvre from 1797
- 05Stolen 1911; recovered in Florence and returned 1913
