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.
Speculations about Mona Lisa
Maike Vogt-Lüerssen argues that the woman behind the famous smile is Isabella of Aragon, the Duchess of Milan. Leonardo was the court painter for the Duke of Milan for 11 years. The pattern on "Mona Lisa's" dark green dress, art critic Maike Vogt-Lüerssen believes, indicates that she was a member of the house of Sforza. Her theory is that the "Mona Lisa" was the first official portrait of the new Duchess of Milan, which requires that it was painted in spring or summer 1489 (and not 1503).