Follower of Leonardo da Vinci, 17th or 18th Century

This image, among the most recognizable in the world, finds its source in Leonardo da Vinci's iconic portrait in the Louvre, The Mona Lisa, thought to depict Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco Giocondo.¹ That original, painted on a poplar panel, was a mature work by Leonardo that represented the culmination of his artistic achievements. It went with him to France around 1517 and likely entered the collection of François I soon after. A testament to its timeless appeal, many replicas of the painting were made for centuries to follow while it was in the Royal Collection.  

Although the modern-day fame surrounding the Mona Lisa today did not arise until the twentieth century, the painting long served as an illustrious model of the Renaissance ideal from a very early age. Some of the earliest known copies include the panel in the Prado museum, which is thought to have arisen in Leonardo's workshop.²  Some copies, like the version in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, record the vestigial columns that were removed from the original composition at an early stage.³  Another example can be found in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.⁴

The present example—which preserves the captivating impression, the soft atmospheric haze, and the enigmatic smile of Leonardo’s model—was likely painted during the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.

1.  Oil on poplar panel, 77 by 53 cm., inv. no. 779.

2.  Oil on walnut panel, 76.3 by 57 cm., inv. no. P000504. 

3.  Oil on canvas, 79.3 by 63.5 cm., inv. no. 37.1158.

4. Oil on poplar panel, 82 by 56.5 cm., inv. no. WAG2785.