The Mona Lisa

Source
The Mona Lisa (/ˌmoʊnə ˈliːsə/; Italian: Monna Lisa [ˈmɔnna ˈliːza] or La Gioconda [la dʒoˈkonda], French: La Joconde [la ʒɔkɔ̃d]) is a half-length picture painting by the Italian Renaissance craftsman Leonardo da Vinci that has been portrayed as "the best known, the most went to, the most expounded on, the most sung about, the most spoofed gem in the world".[1] The Mona Lisa is likewise a standout amongst the most significant works of art on the planet. It holds the Guinness World Record for the most noteworthy known protection valuation in history at $100 million out of 1962, which is worth about $800 million of every 2017.

Source
The composition is believed to be a representation of Lisa Gherardini, the spouse of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar board. It had been accepted to have been painted in the vicinity of 1503 and 1506; notwithstanding, Leonardo may have kept taking a shot at it as late as 1517. Late scholastic work recommends that it would not have been begun before 1513. It was procured by King Francis I of France and is presently the property of the French Republic, on lasting showcase at the Louver Museum in Paris since 1797.

Source
The subject's demeanor, which is as often as possible depicted as baffling, the monumentality of the arrangement, the unobtrusive demonstrating of structures, and the air illusionism were novel characteristics that have added to the proceeding with interest and investigation of the work.

Source
The title of the work of art, which is referred to in English as Mona Lisa, originates from a portrayal by Renaissance workmanship student of history Giorgio Vasari, who stated "Leonardo attempted to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the picture of Mona Lisa, his significant other." Mona in Italian is an obliging type of address starting as "mama donna" – like "Ma'am", "Madam", or "my woman" in English. This moved toward becoming "madonna", and its constriction "mona". The title of the work of art, however generally spelled "Mona" (as utilized by Vasari[11]), is likewise ordinarily spelled in present day Italian as Monna Lisa ("mona" being a foulness in some Italian lingos) yet this is uncommon in English.[citation needed]

Source
Vasari's record of the Mona Lisa originates from his life story of Leonardo distributed in 1550, 31 years after the craftsman's demise. It has for quite some time been the best-known wellspring of data on the provenance of the work and character of the sitter. Leonardo's collaborator Salaì, at his demise in 1524, claimed a representation which in his own papers was named la Gioconda, a work of art passed on to him by Leonardo.

Source
That Leonardo painted such a work, and its date, were affirmed in 2005 when a researcher at Heidelberg University found a minor note in a 1477 printing of a volume composed by the old Roman thinker Cicero. Dated October 1503, the note was composed by Leonardo's contemporary Agostino Vespucci. This note compares Leonardo to famous Greek painter Apelles, who is specified in the content, and expresses that Leonardo was around then chipping away at a sketch of Lisa del Giocondo.

Source
In light of the declaration of the disclosure of this record, Vincent Delieuvin, the Louver agent, expressed "Leonardo da Vinci was painting, in 1503, the picture of a Florentine woman by the name of Lisa del Giocondo. About this we are presently sure. Lamentably, we can't be sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that this representation of Lisa del Giocondo is the work of art of the Louver."
The model, Lisa del Giocondo, was an individual from the Gherardini group of Florence and Tuscany, and the spouse of well off Florentine silk vendor Francesco del Giocondo. The depiction is thought to have been appointed for their new home, and to commend the introduction of their second child, Andrea.The Italian name for the work of art, La Gioconda, signifies "jocund" ("cheerful" or "good humored") or, actually, "the jocund one", a play on words on the ladylike type of Lisa's hitched name, "Giocondo". In French, the title La Joconde has a similar significance.

{Source](steeemit.com)
Prior to that disclosure, researchers had built up a few elective perspectives with regards to the subject of the artistic creation. Some contended that Lisa del Giocondo was the subject of an alternate picture, distinguishing no less than four different depictions as the Mona Lisa alluded to by Vasari. A few other ladies have been proposed as the subject of the artistic creation. Isabella of Aragon,Cecilia Gallerani,Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla, Isabella d'Este, Pacifica Brandano or Brandino, Isabela Gualanda, Caterina Sforza—even Salaì and Leonardo himself—are all among the rundown of set models depicted in the painting.The accord of workmanship history specialists in the 21st century keeps up the long-held conventional supposition, that the sketch delineates Lisa del Giocondo.

Source