Speculations about Mona Lisa Speculations about Mona Lisa The 16th-century portrait Mona Lisa, or "La Gioconda" ("La Joconde"), painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci, has been the subject of a considerable deal of speculation. It has for a long time been argued that after Leonardo's death the painting was cut down by having part of the panel at both sides removed. Early copies depict columns on both sides of the figure. Only the edges of the bases can be seen in the original. However, some art historians, such as Martin Kemp, now argue that the painting has not been
Rescuing Da Vinci properties. Edsel closes the book with a chapter on the destroyed and lost monuments and works of art that are a continued legacy of Hitler's destruction. Each chapter begins with several pages of text, followed by dozens of photographs with detailed captions. Also included are maps that mark the location of the "Mona Lisa" at all stages during the war, the location of all fourteen known Leonardo da Vinci paintings, and the locations of major Nazi repositories in Germany and Austria. While art theft is not commonly associated with the Nazi reign, and perhaps thought by some to be insignificant