Mystery of 'Mona Lisa': Who is depicted on famous portrait?

Lisa Gerardini was born on June 15, 1479, in Florence, into a family that was once influential, but lost its former status before she was born.

At the age of 15, she was married off to 29-year-old silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. This union is believed to have led to the creation of one of the most famous portraits in the world.

According to one version, the portrait was commissioned by Francesco himself, who wanted to immortalize his wife's beauty and celebrate their financial success. It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci began work on the painting in 1503 when Lisa was 24 years old.

However, the artist never gave the painting to Giocondo's family. Due to his tendency to perfectionism, injuries, and constant new projects, he did not complete the work and later took it with him to France, where it remained after his death. It is believed that da Vinci worked on this painting in the last years of his life.

After his death, the painting was acquired by King Francis of France - it was part of his royal collection before the French Revolution, and later fell into the hands of the rebels. In 1797, the Mona Lisa was exhibited in the Louvre in Paris.

But is Lisa Gherardini really the same "Mona Lisa"? For a long time, there were doubts. Some researchers believed that the model could have been her, but there were other versions: a courtesan, a Spanish aristocrat, and even... Leonardo da Vinci himself in a female form.

Modern research confirms that Lisa was the likely model. In 2005, a German historian found a 500-year-old note by Agostino Vespucci, a close friend of Leonardo da Vinci, which mentions that the artist was working on a portrait of Lisa Gerardini. However, having no other images of the woman, scientists cannot accurately identify her facial features and compare them with the world-famous painting.

Del Giocondo was a silk merchant and the couple lived a comfortable, albeit modest, life in Florence. In 1503, they moved to a large house on Via della Stufa. Lisa gave birth to six children: Piero, Piera, Camilla, Marietta, Andrea, and Giocondo. Piera and Giocondo died in early childhood, while Camilla lived to be 19.

Lisa herself was an ordinary Florentine woman of the period. Some historians argue that her story could have been much darker than reported. There were rumors about her husband that his business was not based on silk but on the slave trade.

Gherardini was said to have narrowly escaped a personal scandal, as two men from the influential Medici family tried to seduce her. But she miraculously got out of this story and did not tarnish her reputation.

After her husband's death in 1538, Lisa Gerardini lived out her days in the monastery of Sant'Orsola in Florence. She died sometime between 1542 and 1551, and her funeral was attended by a large crowd.

In the 2010s, a group of researchers tried to find her remains to create a 3D model of her face, but the examinations did not yield any definitive conclusions.

There are also many other versions of the real identity of the Mona Lisa. Among the alternative hypotheses:

• This is a portrait of Catherine, Leonardo da Vinci's mother.
• This is Princess Isabella of Naples
• This is the Spanish noblewoman Costanza d'Avalos
• This is a self-portrait of the artist himself.
• This is an image of an ideal woman created from several real-life prototypes.

The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile, complex background, and enigmatic story create an aura of mystery around this work. Every year, millions of Louvre visitors try to unravel its secrets, but the truth may remain hidden in the depths of history.