Leonardo da Vinci is thought to have begun this masterpiece in Florence at the age of 47 and to have completed it three years later in 1506. This painting, which was never handed over to the person who commissioned it, remained in Leonardo’s possession for the rest of his life. In 1515 he took it with him to the estate of King Francis the First’s castle at Amboise-on-the-Loire, the master’s last residence. According to the historian, painter and architect Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), Mona Lisa – which is an abbreviation of Madonna Lisa – was the third wife of a Florentine merchant by the name of Francesco Bartolomeo del Giocondo; hence the name La Gioconda. She is said to have been about twenty-four years old when Leonardo painted her portrait for the first time.
In his famous biographies of artists’ lives, Vasari described how the portrait of the Mona Lisa originated. Leonardo da Vinci went so far in his quest for perfection that he had singers and musicians come and entertain his model by playing the lute, singing songs and telling amusing stories (fig.) Vasari wrote: " …the smile on this face is so lovely that it is heavenly rather than earthly."
Extract from the book Art & Aesthetic Surgery
by Urs Victor Burki.
)
In his famous biographies of artists’ lives, Vasari described how the portrait of the Mona Lisa originated. Leonardo da Vinci went so far in his quest for perfection that he had singers and musicians come and entertain his model by playing the lute, singing songs and telling amusing stories (fig.) Vasari wrote: " …the smile on this face is so lovely that it is heavenly rather than earthly."