NEW YORK, NY.- Leonardo da Vinci, or Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (his full name), is one of the greatest artists and innovators of all time. Born in Italy, this renaissance genius was active in many different fields of history, geology, and music to science, architecture, and sculpting. For many years, people were fascinated by his work as an inventor and scientist, but we can all agree that his work as a painter is equally impressive. Leonardo da Vinci is “responsible” for many masterpieces and one of the most famous ones is Mona Lisa.

The creation of Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is actually a relatively small portrait (there were many larger portraits made in the 16th century) which is now one of the most famous paintings in the world. As a result of that, Mona Lisa is also a portrait with the highest value – the insurance valuation is around 800 million dollars.

There is no official record of the timeline of this portrait. However, a few sources claim that the work of this painting started in 1503 and it was finished three years later. On the other hand, some sources point out that Leonardo da Vinci was working on Mona Lisa until 1517. In any case, the painting is based on Lisa Gherardini. Lisa was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, an important member of the Gherardini family from the Tuscany region.

Today, Mona Lisa is displayed in Paris, at the Louvre Museum. Actually, this portrait is kept there since 1797 thanks to an acquisition made by King Francis I of France. The specific composition of the portrait, the famous Mona Lisa smile, the detailed form and the mystic atmosphere make this artwork very special. Even today, in the 21st century, many people are still trying to discover new things related to this portrait.
What is even more interesting is that Mona Lisa has affected the world’s culture over all these centuries and it is still doing it today.

A few examples of things inspired by Mona Lisa
To start with, a few famous people have used Mona Lisa as their stage names. For instance, an older Filipino actress Gloria Lerma Yatco has used Mona Lisa as her screen name. She has won the national movie award and she has always claimed that her screen name helped her. The same goes for the popular R&B singer Kimberly Leadbetter. She used Mona Lisa as a professional stage name. Lisa was active in the 1990s. There is also an Indian film actress that uses the same screen name.

Mona Lisa has been used as an inspiration for some online slot games too. For instance, there is a slot called Mona Lisa Jewels. This Mona Lisa slot game was made by iSoftBet and features many symbols and visual elements that remind people of the famous painting. This means that you can play and win money while looking at the world’s most famous painting.

Mona Lisa was used in the movie and TV industry too. For example, only a small number of people remember that there is a character named Mona Lisa in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. This is actually a mutant lizard that gets along well with the mutant turtles. Another animated TV series have a character with the same name and that’s Courage the Cowardly Dog.

There are two Mona Lisa movies – one British and one Indian. Those who are fans of mystery/horror TV shows have heard about The Outer Limits show. One episode of this show from 2001 is called Mona Lisa and as the name suggests, it is closely related to the painting.

Even the music industry includes some examples where the name of the famous portrait appears. There was a very popular French band from the 1970s that was simply called Mona Lisa. The rest of the examples are actually singles called Mona Lisa. Brad Paisley, the famous country singer has introduced a song called The Mona Lisa in 2013. Songs with the same names were released by Rak-Su, Nat King Cole, Bayside, and MBLAQ. What’s even more interesting is that there is a Mona Lisa opera created by Max von Schillings. The use of the name of this portrait doesn’t end here. There is a crater on Venus, a cruise ship and a potato variety that bear the same name.

There is no doubt that Mona Lisa will continue to be mentioned in the future too because this artwork is truly something extraordinary.