The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is arguably the most famous piece of art in the world. Such beauty and perfection can be found in this one painting. As an artist myself, the Mona Lisa is my role model for portraits.This magnificent piece of art was painted (according to www.totallyhistory.com) between 1504 and 1519, and most likely took 3-4 years to paint! This painting (also according to www.totallyhistory.com) is of a woman named Lisa Gherardini; her husband Francesco Del Giocondo, asked Da Vinci to paint it (according to http://www.lairweb.org.nz). The painting has been examined with x-rays, and it has been found that there are multiple paintings under the original one. There are many reasons the Mona Lisa is so famous. One, of course, is the artist, Leonardo Da Vinci. He is arguably the most well known artist in the entire world. Not only was Da Vinci an artist, but was he was also a scientist, an inventor, and a doctor; his knowledge of the human form actually came from human body corpses. Even though Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most famous pieces of art, Da Vinci was most known for his drawing ability, not painting. The Mona Lisa is an oil painting on cottonwood panel. Because of the medium, the painting has survived six centuries, which is quite surprising considering the time period in which it was painted. Most of the artwork in the Renaissance period had a very biblical meaning, but this work of art did not.
In 1911 the Mona Lisa went missing. Someone stole it, and Picasso was put in jail for two years and then was found not guilty. In 1913 Vincenzo Perugia was arrested for the crime of stealing the Mona Lisa. Perugia was an employee at Louvre when he stole it. In 1956 the painting withstood vandalism: the first one was when someone threw acid at the bottom half of the painting. Later that year someone threw a rock at the painting, chipping the paint near Mona Lisa's elbow. Later it was painted over. Luckily the painting has not taken any more damage, since it has been placed in bullet-proof glass and now rests where it belongs: hanging up at Louvre in Paris.
References
http://www.lairweb.org.nz
www.totallyhistory.com