The cult painting by Leonardo da Vinci had no title till the biography of Leonardo was published 31 years after his death. The author of the biography identified the woman as Lisa, the wife of wealthy Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo. Mona is the contraction of Italian “madonna” (my lady).

The alternative title La Gioconda is the feminine form of Giocondo. These two names were established as official titles in the 19th century.

The true identity of the Mona Lisa, however, remains a mystery, and some experts believe that the painting is a self portrait of Leonardo.

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa between 1503 and 1507 with oil on poplar wood. In 1516 the painting was brought from Italy to France, and sold to King Francis I for 4,000 écus.

It is known from the early copies that originally there were two columns on either side of the figure, but at some point after Leonardo's death the painting was cut down by having part of the panel at both sides removed.

The Mona Lisa became popular in the mid nineteenth century, when the artists of Symbolist movement started to associate the painting with their ideas about feminine mystique.

In the 1960's the painting was assessed for insurance purposes at $100 million (that made appr. $608 million in 2004), which made it the most valuable painting ever insured.

Numerous X-ray examinations of the painting have shown that there are three versions of the Mona Lisa hidden under the present one.

Da Vinci's painting, possibly the most famous portrait of all time, is housed in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and visited by many thousands of people every year. The researchers and amateurs are trying meanwhile to solve the mystery of the sitter’s smile.