One of the world’s most famous artworks unquestionably is the “Mona Lisa,” a portrait that Leonardo da Vinci painted starting about 1503 or 1504.
“Mona Lisa” has attracted lots of attention over the centuries, with endless speculation about the “smile.” Was it really a “smile,” or just a pleasant expression? At best, it might be called enigmatic.
Countless people have wondered, as they have viewed the famed painting in the Louvre or other museums, or have seen countless prints throughout the world.
Now the half-length portrait is “in the news” because a current researcher, Silvano Vinceti, has speculated that the model for “Mona Lisa” may not have been a woman, but Leonardo’s male apprentice, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who worked for the famed painter for a couple of decades.
(A more accepted view says “Mona Lisa” was inspired by Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.)