The identity of the woman with the enigmatic smile in the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece Mona Lisa baffled generations of researchers. She now is believed to have been Lisa Gherardini, the wife of merchant Francesco del Giocondo of Florence. Leonardo executed the painting, officially titled La Giaconda, during a stay there between 1503 and 1506.

Mona Lisa illustrates Leonardo’s revolutionary style, which earned him praise from his High Renaissance contemporaries. The masterpiece, for example, reveals Leonardo’s exploration of the psychological world. Prior to Leonardo, works of art were judged on their technical portrayal of the physical world; Leonardo, however, insisted that a “figure is most praiseworthy which ... best expresses the passions of the soul,” an aim accomplished by Mona Lisa’s aloof yet seductive smile. Leonardo’s innovative “sfumato” coloring also is present in the painting. By using low-intensity colors and gradual transitions, Leonardo created a hazy, softened atmosphere that seamlessly integrated the central figure with its background.

In 1911, an Italian decorator working at the Louvre in Paris cut Mona Lisa from its frame and removed the painting from the museum under his overalls. When the thief later was caught attempting to sell Mona Lisa, he claimed to have stolen the work in order to restore it to his homeland. In 2005, the Louvre moved Mona Lisa into its own room, built at a cost in excess of $6 million.

PostScript: Leonardo’s student, Andrea Salai, painted a nude version of Mona Lisa in 1515. Art experts believe that Salai’s portrait is a copy of a lost erotic parody by Leonardo himself.