It has always been thought that Leonardo da Vinci took three years to paint his portrait of Lisa Gherardini, nicknamed La Gioconda, from 1503 to 1506. But evidence has surfaced that he actually took 16 years, and that he was still dabbing at her when he died in 1519. This would place the portrait in Leonardo's late period, and would explain why it never belonged to Francesco del Giocondo, the sitter's husband, even though he commissioned it. The evidence is so compelling that the Louvre has changed its official catalogue listing. And it's all thanks to the extraordinary discovery of a second Mona Lisa at the Prado in Madrid in February. There are several known copies of the Mona Lisa dating...
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