The Mona Lisa is one of the most easily recognized paintings. Even those who have little interest in Art History can identify the Mona Lisa. This is a painting that has a lot of mystery surrounding it. One of those mysteries is leading historians to exhume the body of the woman who is believed to have been the model for this famous painting.
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci between 1503 and 1506. He painted this portrait when he was in Florence, Italy, but the painting itself currently is located in the Louvre Museum in France. For whatever reason, Leonardo Da Vinci kept this painting with him, instead of turning it over to whomever commissioned it. He brought it with him to France, and the painting eventually became part of the collection of Francois I, the King of France.
It is believed that the Mona Lisa was commissioned by a cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo, and the assumption is that this painting was to be a portrait of his wife, Lisa Gherardini. There has been much debate about who the actual sitter for this painting truly was. Art historians are currently working on exhuming the body of Lisa Gherardini, in order to finally end the debate. Scientists are interested in extracting DNA from inside the bones of the 500 year old remains of Lisa Gherardini. They want to recreate what her face actually looked like when she was alive.
Who was Lisa Gherardini? She was born in 1479, in Florence, Italy. She was also known as Lisa di Antonio Maria (Antonmaria) Gherardini, and as Mona Lisa. Her father was Antonmaria de Noldo Gherardini. His third wife, Lucrezia del Caccia, was Lisa Gherardini’s mother. Lisa Gherardini is named after the wife of her paternal grandfather. She was the eldest of seven siblings, and had three sisters and three brothers. The Gherardini family was living on a farm income, which would mean they were comfortable, but not wealthy. The family was “an old name” and aristocratic, but had lost it’s influence.
When Lisa Gherardini was fifteen years old, she married Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, on March 5, 1495. He was a cloth and silk merchant, and was modestly successful. Lisa was his second wife. The couple lived with Lisa’s family until March 5, 1503, when they were able to buy their own home. This date corresponds to when Leonardo Da Vinci started painting the famous Mona Lisa painting. Some say the painting was commissioned in celebration of owning their own home. Lisa and Francesco had five children together: Piero, Camilla, Andrea, Giocondo, and Marietta. Four of them were born between the years 1496 and 1507.
Image by Joaquín Martínez on Flickr