Probably Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Leonardo began the portrait around 1503, never delivered it, and was still working on it in France more than a decade later. Its hold rests on sfumato — contours dissolved into smoke-fine gradations, most of all at the corners of the mouth and eyes, so the expression refuses to resolve.
Probably Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Leonardo began the portrait around 1503, never delivered it, and was still working on it in France more than a decade later. Its hold rests on sfumato — contours dissolved into smoke-fine gradations, most of all at the corners of the mouth and eyes, so the expression refuses to resolve.Read more
