The Mona Lisa
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The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Who was Leonardo? Leonardo was an Italian artist. He painted the Mona Lisa around the year 1500. And what is it a painting of? It is a painting of a woman. The woman has brown hair, and she seems to be smiling. No one knows for sure who the woman is. But many people think it is a woman named Lisa Gherardini.
Some people wonder why the painting is called Mona Lisa. In Italian, the word mona can mean “madam” or “misses.” So the title really means “Mrs. Lisa.”
Every year, millions of people go to see the Mona Lisa. They think the woman’s smile is fascinating. They talk about her smile more than anything else. It is not a full smile. In fact, people say her smile is ambiguous. If something is ambiguous, this means that it is unclear or confusing. Maybe she smiles because she is happy. Maybe she smiles because she is worried. Maybe she smiles because she remembers something. Maybe she smiles because she is about to do something silly. Some people think she is not smiling at all. Her smile is a mystery. That is why the painting is so famous.
You can see the painting in a book or on the internet. But the original painting is in Paris, France. It is in a museum called the Louvre. The Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world. It is also one of the most famous. It used to be the palace of the King of France. But now it belongs to the people of France. It has more than thirty thousand works of art in it. More than 8 million people visit it every year. Most of them go to see the Mona Lisa.
If you go to see the Mona Lisa, you will see that it is kept behind thick glass. You will also see that it has a guard. This is because in 1911 the painting was stolen. Nobody knew where it was for two years. But finally the thief was caught. And luckily the painting was found. Now you can .