Mona Lisa the Masterpiece

Mona Lisa

 "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

                                                                                         -Leonardo Da Vinci

This is obviously not made by me but as its the most celebrated painting in the world I am glad tohave dedicated a post to this masterpiece by Vinci and I am presenting some really interesting facts about it.

1)  The painting has an imperfection. In 1956, a man named Ugo Ungaza threw a stone at the painting. This resulted in a small patch of damaged paint next to her left elbow.   

2 )  The identity of the woman in the painting is still a mystery. Some believe that it is the female form of Leonardo Da Vinci himself. Most popular belief is that the woman was Lisa Gherardini, who was 24-years-old and a mother of two sons. 

3) The name of the painting, Mona Lisa was the result of a spelling error! The original name of the painting was Monna Lisa. Monna in Italian is a short form of Madonna, meaning 'My Lady'.

4) Another interesting fact about the painting is that the woman in the painting has no eyebrows. It is rumoured that it is because when the authorities were trying to restore the painting, the eyebrows got accidentally removed. However, some people believe that Leonardo Da Vinci never completed the painting because he was a consummate perfectionist.

5) The painting in the Louvre has a room of its own. It is protected in a climate controlled environment and encased in bullet proof glass. The room was built exclusively for the painting and it cost the museum over seven million dollars! 

6) Studies have shown that there are three different layers painted before the present version of the painting. One version has her hands clutching her arm instead of the chair in front of her.

7) The painting is considered priceless so it cannot be insured.