Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Story The History of a Painting Told in Pictures

Five centuries after Leonardo da Vinci first painted La Gioconda , or the Mona Lisa , her mysterious smile retains its celebrity status. Da Vinci today is in the public eye like no other artist, yet few of us know the compelling story of this priceless world treasure: how she was created; her impact on other artists; the story of her theft; and how, through a mix of luck, history, and her own innate beauty, she came to be regarded as the world's greatest painting. In this engaging story, told largely in pictures and presented in a unique format, acclaimed historian and Mona Lisa scholar Donald Sassoon offers us an intimate look at the painting's history and the genius who gave the Mona Lisa lasting life. From photographs of Florence to paintings by Leonardo's Florentine contemporaries, parodies of the Mona Lisa by Duchamp and Warhol, commercial appropriations and cartoons, Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Story unlocks the history behind the painting and illustrates just how much she continues to influence our culture.