Mona Lisa

Leonardo's portrait of Lisa del Giocondo is the most famous painting in the world, renowned for the sitter's enigmatic smile and his pioneering sfumato — soft, smoke-like transitions between tones. Leonardo carried it with him for years, never quite calling it finished. A 1911 theft from the Louvre turned it into a global celebrity.

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci

  • Datec. 1503–06
  • MovementHigh Renaissance
  • WhereLouvre, Paris
  • RegionFrance