Most Famous Paintings

There are many great painters in history and one of the greatest is
Leonardo da Vinci. He created many paintings which art lovers and experts
loved. One of his greatest creations which millions of people all over
the world from different periods loved is the Mona Lisa. This particular
painting of Da Vinci captured the hearts of people because of Mona Lisa's
captivating smile.

What's so great about the painting? Well, it took Leonardo over four
years to finally finish the painting. After he finished working on the
Mona Lisa, he carried the painting anywhere he went and he did this until
he finally died. The painting never left his side when he was still alive
and because of this, more and more people became truly interested on the
Mona Lisa painting. They all wondered why Da Vinci painted it and what it
was depicting.

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in Italy in 1503. The model was Lisa
Ghirardi, the wife of Francesco del Giacondo. According to a biographer
named Vasari, the painting was merely a commission. During the time the
painting was being made, Ghirardi was pregnant with her second baby. Some
other scholars said that the father of Leonardo was a friend of Francesco
and that the painting was a gift commissioned by Leonardo's father.
Despite the revealed facts, people still didn't know why Leonardo da
Vinci valued the Mona Lisa painting very much when he was still alive.
Numerous theories still surfaced but no clear answer was established.

Not all people believed that the model in the painting was Lisa Ghirardi.
Other theories have shown the model might be Aragon's Isabella or
Constanza d'Avalos or even Milan's Duchess. However, the importance of
the painting to Leonardo was still left unanswered. The attachment of
Leonardo to the painting was still unknown.

Further theories were still formulated. According to another theory, the

Mona Lisa was a self portrait of Leonardo because it was similar to the
self portraits of the painter. The similarity of the facial features also
postulated that the Mona Lisa was Leonardo's mother, Caterina and not
Lisa Ghirardi.

All throughout Da Vinci's life, he was intrigued by anything found in the

surroundings. He infused his interests to his various art works including
that of Mona Lisa. He was very interested in topography and weather. In
fact, the background of Mona Lisa shows the culmination of humanity with
nature. All of Leonardo's works were important to him because it was his
way of expressing his own life. The Mona Lisa painting was small and yet
it took him over four years to complete. It may also be a representation
of all his interests in life, and nothing more; only Leonardo knows the
real reason of his attachment to the painting.

Four years work is no joke. He put a lot of his energy and time in
painting the Mona Lisa. It became his masterpiece and it's not easy to
part with something of great value. For over 500 years, people are still
wondering what had happened. All sorts of questions are still being asked
-- why the painting was never bought, did Leonardo lose his commission,

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and many others. The real reason was buried with the painter and because
of the public's great interest the painting is still very popular up to
present.

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