Mona Lisa
The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. Recent academic work suggests that it would not have been started before 1513. It was acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797.
Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations
By the 20th century, "Mona Lisa" had already been a victim of satirical embellishment.
"Sapeck" (Eugène Bataille), in 1883, depicted "Mona Lisa" smoking a pipe ("shown above"). Titled "Le Rire" (The Laugh), the artwork was displayed at the "Incoherents" exhibition in Paris at the time of its creation, making it among the earliest known instances of "Mona Lisa"'s image being re-interpreted using contemporary irony.
Further interpretations by avante garde artists beginning in the early 20th century, coinciding with the artwork's theft, attest to "Mona Lisa"'s popularity as an irresistible target.
Dadaists and Surrealists were quick to modify, embellish and caricature "Mona Lisa"'s visage.