`Mona Lisa' Naming Leaves Mysteries Unsolved

Commentary by Martin Gayford

Jan 17, Bloomberg

A few notes scribbled in the margin of a manuscript found in Heidelberg, Germany, have closed down a small scholarly industry. Now we know, almost definitely, the identity of the ``Mona Lisa.''

She is Lisa di Antonmaria Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo and, at the time that Leonardo encountered her, a 20- something Florentine mother of three.

In October 1503, Agostino Vespucci, a friend of the artist, jotted in his copy of Cicero's letters the fact that Leonardo was currently working on three pictures. One was a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. That seems to settle the question of the sitter's name. Lovers of mystery will be pleased to learn that it doesn't settle all the puzzles of this famously enigmatic picture.

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photo: This is a handout photo of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa.' Source: Louvre via Bloomberg News