"Reams have been written about the Mona Lisa, as the painting is called by the British and Americans, and the Gioconda, as it is known to the Italians and French. But less known are the events, affections and social relations that took place in the life of Leonardo's presumed model for the painting. She was a young woman from Florence, already the mother of several children, generous and "noble in spirit" according to her husband." "For centuries, as the Florentine art historian Giorgio Vasari claimed, the Mona Lisa was considered the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, but the theft of the painting from the Louvre in 1911 and the press campaign that followed ended by bringing the identity of the woman into question, fueling a debate that is still ongoing." "The accounts and documents referred to in this book clarify the question, as a result of which it is difficult not to side with Vasari's supporters that the lady in question was actually Mona Lisa Gherardini." "The main characters in this story are Lisa, her husband Francesco and Leonardo da Vinci. The setting is Renaissance Florence, a city still rich and home to cultural and artistic movements of international renown." "The book is in two parts: the first tells the political and cultural history of Florence: the second is a small fresco of life in the city, in which the lives of Lisa Gherardini and Francesco del Giocondo cross with those of other famous Florentines."--BOOK JACKET.

The woman in Leonardo da Vinci's work gazes out from the canvas with a quiet serenity. But what lies behind the famous smile? Shrouded in mystery, the Mona Lisa has attracted more speculation and questioning than any other work of art ever created. This work provides an aide memoire of the world's most famous painting. The full-page colour plates portray the Mona Lisa in close-up photographs, while Serge Bramly, the author, explores its shadowy history and the fascination the painting has engendered.

- Discover the true portrait of Lisa Gherardini- Major BBC documentary to be broadcast in December 2015Groundbreaking and important new discoveries concerning the Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa is one of mankind's great mysteries. With over 9.7 million admirers per year, it is the most legendary painting of all time. No other work has provoked such a desire to know its secrets. Now, after a decade of research, Pascal Cotte has pioneered an extraordinary scientific imagery technique (L.A.M.), that takes us into the heart of the paint-layers of the world's most famous picture and reveals secrets that have remained hidden for 500 years. This book takes us on a remarkable journey that reveals stage by stage, layer by layer, his remarkable findings. It demonstrates definitively, for the first time, answers to the mysteries that have eluded us for centuries. Who was the lady in the picture? Did Leonardo paint another version? What really lies behind that iconic face? And how did Leonardo achieve that beguiling and seductive smile? There are over 150 brand new discoveries about the painting. A landmark event in the world of art, this book shatters many myths and alters our vision of Leonardo's masterpiece forever. Pascal Cotte's findings are the subject of a major BBC documentary and will be announced to the world in December.

A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.

The true story of the Mona Lisa - the people behind it, how Leonardo painted it and what it meant to him, and its fortunes in the centuries since. Read this book and the world's most famous image will never look the same again.

Historical fiction - Mystery & Suspense Thriller In this elaborately plotted, fast-paced thriller, Phil Philips takes you on a roller-coaster ride through the streets of Paris and to the Jura mountains of Switzerland, to uncover a secret hidden for thousands of years ... Fans of the da Vinci code will love Mona Lisa's Secret.

“It’s official. That thing that classic art has been missing is a chubby reclining kitty.” —The Huffington Post Internet meme meets classical art in Svetlana Petrova’s brilliant Fat Cat Art. Featuring her twenty-two-pound, ginger-colored cat Zarathustra superimposed onto some of the greatest artworks of all time, Petrova’s paintings are an Internet sensation. Now fans will have the ultimate full-color collection of her work, including several never-before-seen pieces, to savor for themselves or to give as a gift to fellow cat lovers. From competing with Venus’s sexy reclining pose (and almost knocking her off her chaise lounge in the process) in Titian’s Venus of Urbino, to exhibiting complete disdain as he skirts away from God’s pointing finger in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, Zarathustra single-handedly rewrites art history in the way that only an adorable fat cat can.

The "Mona Lisa" is widely recognized as the most famous painting in the history of art--and an undeniable icon of pop culture. Her celebrated face is used to sell everything from champagne to automobiles, and appears on ashtrays, mouse pads, and refrigerator magnets. More than any other art object, the "Mona Lisa "demonstrates that something can be high art and pop, classic and cool. Likewise, Donald Sassoon's elegant narrative is as much the story of one painting's ascendance to the status of global icon as it is the popularization of serious and distinguished art. A professor and acclaimed writer, Sassoon provides a fascinating account of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius who created the picture; who the mysterious subject was; why it gained its unrivalled position in the art world; and how it has come to be used and abused by other artists and the international advertising industry. Lavishly illustrated, "Becoming Mona Lisa" is at once social, cultural, and art history of the highest order.

The book rests on the premise that the woman in the painting "Mona Lisa" is indeed the person identified in its earliest description: Lisa Gherardini (1479-1542), wife of the Florence merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Dianne Hales has followed facts from the Florence State Archives, to the squalid street where Mona Lisa was born, to the ruins of the convent where she died

From the acclaimed author of The Night Portrait comes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by five hundred years, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—with unintended consequences. France, 1939 At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre’s art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre’s most precious artworks—including the Mona Lisa—are being transferred to ensure their safety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the Mona Lisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide and seek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne also begins to learn the truth about her brother and the role he plays in this dangerous game. Florence, 1479 House servant Bellina Sardi’s future seems fixed when she accompanies her newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno. Lisa’s husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerful Medici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina finds herself bewitched by a charismatic monk who has urged Florentines to rise up against the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her new employer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossible secret. When art and war collide, Leonardo da Vinci, his beautiful subject Lisa, and the portrait find themselves in the crosshairs of history.