Dec 12, 2025
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The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519).
Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, and the most parodied work of art in the world."
The painting's novel qualities include the subject's enigmatic expression, monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world.
It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest known painting insurance valuation in history at US$100 million in 1962, equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023.
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