Leonardo da Vinci's Most Famous Paintings – The Mona Lisa

There are many great painters in history and one of the greatest is Leonardo da Vinci. He created many paintings which art lovers and experts loved. One of his greatest creations which millions of people all over the world from different periods loved is the Mona Lisa. This particular painting of Da Vinci captured the hearts of people because of Mona Lisa's captivating smile.

What's so great about the painting? Well, it took Leonardo over four years to finally finish the painting. After he finished working on the Mona Lisa, he carried the painting anywhere he went and he did this until he finally died. The painting never left his side when he was still alive and because of this, more and more people became truly interested on the Mona Lisa painting. They all wondered why Da Vinci painted it and what it was depicting.

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in Italy in 1503. The model was Lisa Ghirardi, the wife of Francesco del Giacondo. According to a biographer named Vasari, the painting was merely a commission. During the time the painting was being made, Ghirardi was pregnant with her second baby. Some other scholars said that the father of Leonardo was a friend of Francesco and that the painting was a gift commissioned by Leonardo's father. Despite the revealed facts, people still didn’t know why Leonardo da Vinci valued the Mona Lisa painting very much when he was still alive. Numerous theories still surfaced but no clear answer was established.

Not all people believed that the model in the painting was Lisa Ghirardi. Other theories have shown the model might be Aragon's Isabella or Constanza d'Avalos or even Milan's Duchess. However, the importance of the painting to Leonardo was still left unanswered. The attachment of Leonardo to the painting was still unknown.

Further theories were still formulated. According to another theory, the Mona Lisa was a self portrait of Leonardo because it was similar to the self portraits of the painter. The similarity of the facial features also postulated that the Mona Lisa was Leonardo's mother, Caterina and not Lisa Ghirardi.

All throughout Da Vinci's life, he was intrigued by anything found in the surroundings. He infused his interests to his various art works including that of Mona Lisa. He was very interested in topography and weather. In fact, the background of Mona Lisa shows the culmination of humanity with nature. All of Leonardo's works were important to him because it was his way of expressing his own life. The Mona Lisa painting was small and yet it took him over four years to complete. It may also be a representation of all his interests in life, and nothing more; only Leonardo knows the real reason of his attachment to the painting.

Four years work is no joke. He put a lot of his energy and time in painting the Mona Lisa. It became his masterpiece and it's not easy to part with something of great value. For over 500 years, people are still wondering what had happened. All sorts of questions are still being asked – why the painting was never bought, did Leonardo lose his commission, and many others. The real reason was buried with the painter and because of the public's great interest the painting is still very popular up to present.