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
Leonardo da Vinci employed were unorthodox for his time. Leonardo was born out of wedlock to notary Piero da Vinci and a peasant woman named Caterina in Vinci in the region of Florence, and he was educated in the studio of Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna, and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I of France. Leonardo is renowned primarily as a painter. The "Mona Lisa" is the most