Mona Lisa
Today the "Mona Lisa" is considered the most famous painting in the world, but until the 20th century it was simply one among many highly regarded artworks.
Once part of King Francis I of France's collection, the "Mona Lisa" was among the first artworks to be exhibited in Louvre, which became a national museum after the French Revolution. From the 19th century Leonardo began to be revered as a genius and the painting's popularity grew from the mid-19th century when French intelligentsia developed a theme that it was mysterious and a representation of the femme fatale.
The Baedeker guide in 1878 called it "the most celebrated work of Leonardo in the Louvre", but the painting was known more by the intelligentsia than the general public.
The 1911 theft of the "Mona Lisa" and its subsequent return was reported worldwide, leading to a massive increase in public recognition of the painting. During the 20th century it was an object for mass reproduction, merchandising, lampooning and speculation, and was claimed to have been reproduced in "300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements". It has been said that the "Mona Lisa" was regarded as "just another Leonardo until early last century, when the scandal of the painting's theft from the Louvre and subsequent return kept a spotlight on it over several years."
Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
"Mona Lisa"'s iconic face has been available for years in all forms, reproduced on everything from birthday cards to refrigerator magnets, appearing in advertisements for fashion and travel industries, and on the cover of magazines.
Leonardo da Vinci's own status as "genius" has been suggested as a factor contributing to the mystique of his creation.
The eyes of Leonardo's original "Mona Lisa" appear within cover-graphics for Dan Brown's fictional novel "The Da Vinci Code".
The "Mona Lisa" portrait also appeared in the teaser trailer for the 2006 film of the same name, although a replica was used for filming, appears only briefly in the film, and plays a very small part in the story.
Along with Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring", "Mona Lisa" is among the most replicated works of art.
The sheer number and variety of replicas and reproductions since its creation in the early 16th century illustrates a so-called "self-reinforcing dynamic"; utilized in advertising because of its familiarity, thereby re-enforcing its fame.