Horror Paintings

Scary Facts About Mona Lisa, The Most Famous Painting In The World

There are paintings that even those who are far from being first-rate art lovers can appreciate their genius. The Mona Lisa by Italian Artist Leonardo Da Vinci may not meet this condition because, at first glance, it is a painting that may be exaggerated. Still, we cannot argue with facts; it is undoubtedly the most famous painting in the world.

Even if you do not understand how significant this painting is at first glance, it is impossible to remain indifferent to it. Something is mesmerizing about the Mona Lisa; it hides many mysteries, and its creative technique is extraordinary and even unique.

Call me crazy, but I’ve always thought the Mona Lisa was creepy. I could almost imagine a horror movie starring her as the main villain, or even a scene where she comes out of the original painting hanging in the Louvre Museum in Paris, like a Renaissance version of Samara or something, and starts chasing people who disparage Renaissance art (how come they haven’t made a movie out of it yet?)

In the following review, we’ve collected some interesting and scary facts about Mona Lisa, which show that she could be part of our scary paintings review.

Scary facts about mona lisa (8)

Who Painted The Mona Lisa?

Let’s start with some warm-up facts, which, if you didn’t know – you probably wouldn’t have passed the selection on a trivia game show or even been accepted into the cast of “Beauty and the Geek.” Leonardo da Vinci is the Italian artist responsible for the famous work, and he did it in the 16th century. It is still unknown why da Vinci made this masterwork and whether he even finished it.

Giorgio Vasari, an Italian painter, art historian, and biographer who focuses on Renaissance artists, claims that the person who commissioned the painting was a cloth merchant from Florence named Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo and that it happened in 1503. At the time, da Vinci was in financial difficulties, lacking a regular income, and was engaged in private portraiture. When he received payment for “The Battle of Anghiari” – a painting of which only a sketch remains – he abandoned the Mona Lisa.

How Long Did It Take To Paint The Mona Lisa?

According to reports, Leonardo da Vinci worked on the Mona Lisa for no less than four years, until 1506-1507 or even later. What is more important is that da Vinci never finished the painting. The Mona Lisa was never delivered to the person who commissioned it, and da Vinci didn’t receive any payment.

Part of the story here may be that da Vinci was always a perfectionist, and there were several works that he had difficulty officially declaring complete. According to reports, he traveled with the painting worldwide for years, making changes and additions since he was unhappy with the result.

In any case, Francis I of France bought the painting at some point and began displaying it in various places after da Vinci’s death. It was very popular with kings and was hung in Napoleon’s bedroom, for example (it is likely, by the way, that he needed a ladder to hang the picture). At some point, the painting was displayed publicly at the Louvre Museum, where it remains.

scary mona lisa picture

Where Is The Mona Lisa Located Right Now?

As mentioned, the original Mona Lisa painting is in the Louvre Museum in Paris, which stands out for its glass pyramid and an unprecedented collection of works of art from thousands of years.

According to statistics, about nine million people visit the Louvre annually, a large part of them specifically to see the world-famous painting. It is important to note that one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world offers not only the Mona Lisa but also other canonical works by da Vinci (such as “Virgin of the Rocks,” “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne” and “La Belle Ferronnière”), “Oath of the Horatii” by French artist Jacques-Louis David, “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix, and others. Even in the room where the Mona Lisa is located, you can see an awe-inspiring work many people miss, such as “The Wedding Feast at Cana” by Paolo Veronese, the largest painting in the Louvre, which is almost 10 meters wide and above 6 meters high.

We highly recommend you visit the Louvre, especially if you are into art, or even consider the Parisian museum card, assuming you are willing to pay more attention to art than the average person. Despite the tendency of many people to come to museums of this type to “make a mark” or take pictures to get likes on social media, it is worth paying a little more attention to the paintings. The Mona Lisa may not be the painting that will allow you to do this because the experience of viewing it is anything but intimate against the backdrop of the swarm of tourists, but it is still worth being impressed by it.

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The Mona Lisa Theft That Made A Classic

For many years, the Mona Lisa was nearly forgotten without getting much attention. That changed on August 21, 1911, when an Italian artist named Vincenzo Peruggia, a former employee of the Louvre Museum, took advantage of the fact that the rather inconspicuous painting did not include special security measures. He removed the screws, took it out of the frame, and slipped it under a white coat, which was supposed to match the appearance of one of the Museum’s maintenance workers.

Just 28 hours (!) after the Mona Lisa got stolen, someone at the Museum noticed that the painting was missing. The Museum was closed for a week, trying to solve the mystery. Suddenly, the relatively unknown picture received extensive press coverage, especially about who stole the Mona Lisa.

Some suspected that it was the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire or even none other than Pablo Picasso, whom the poet was determined to frame. Peruggia hid the portrait in the hotel he was staying in Paris, inside the double bottom of a suitcase, and it worked. Another 28 months passed until Peruggia made the mistake of trying to sell the painting to a Florentine art dealer, who identified it and confirmed the painting’s authenticity. He called the police, Peruggia got arrested, and suddenly, the painting’s status changed.

Today, the Mona Lisa is one of the most secure paintings in the world. It is in a private, well-secured room in the Museum, under various protective measures. A few years ago, climate activists tried to throw a cake at the painting, which was supposed to protest the climate crisis, but the adequate protective cover coped with the dirt.


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Who Was The Mona Lisa In Real Life?

You can’t discuss scary facts about Mona Lisa without focusing on the mysterious girl. It is also challenging to provide a definitive answer to the question of who Mona Lisa was. Over the years, there have been theories that da Vinci painted his mistress, his mother, or even a (somewhat feminine) self-portrait of Da Vinci himself. Some scholars claim that the face in the painting is a combination of two different figures, representing da Vinci’s ideal of feminine beauty. The fact that he did not sign the work, which also does not include a date, makes identification even more difficult.

Still, the accepted view today is that the painting is based on “Madame Lisa” (“Mona” means “Lady”), who is the wife of that cloth merchant, Lisa del Giocondo. We do not know too much about the life of that lady, except for the fact that she was from an Italian aristocratic family, in good financial standing but not too wealthy. In her teens, Lisa married the same cloth merchant, who was much older than her, and raised five children with him.

The Mona Lisa Technique Was Super Complicated

Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in oil on poplar wood, and its size is 53X77 cm. The artist covered the painting with a layer of varnish to protect it. The problem is that the varnish did not survive the ravages of time and yellowed quite quickly, meaning that some of the details in the original painting disappeared over time.

In general, da Vinci used several techniques here that were groundbreaking for their time: for example, advanced perspective, a sense of depth, the play of light and shadow, and more. The painting includes many layers, perhaps even dozens, further evidence of its complexity or da Vinci’s perfectionism. In 2006, for example, scientists using advanced scanning technology discovered several layers of paint, each revealing slight changes in the Mona Lisa’s pose and expression.

The technique may explain why is Mona Lisa famous, but it is just a small detail in the whole picture.

Why is The Mona Lisa smiling?

Much has been written about The Mona Lisa Smile, which also earned a very dull 2003 film with the same name. Even Before films like “Smile” and “Truth or Dare” turned the smile into an antagonist, perhaps even a full-fledged horror villain, Mona Lisa’s slightly disturbing smile. It’s not necessarily the stuff of nightmares or the inspiration for horror icons – unlike, for example, Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream,” which inspired Ghostface in the “Scream” films – but something strange here.

It’s hard to ignore that the Mona Lisa is smiling and that her smile seems mysterious or even skeptical. Technically, it’s likely that what catches the eye is the “Stufamo” (“smoke-covered” in Italian) technique that the artist used in various parts of the painting, mainly in the mouth and the corner of the eye.

the mona lisa smile

The term coined by Da Vinci refers to a technique in which one moves gradually and carefully between shades and colors, which raises the levels and creates a harmonious and complex image with a subtle and ambiguous effect. In this case, one gets the impression that the Mona Lisa is smiling or is supposed to be smiling, thanks to the dreamy and mysterious look that the painting takes on. And by the way, according to some perceptions, Da Vinci brought an impressive arsenal of clowns, singers, and musicians into the room so that they could make the subject of the portrait smile.

Various analyses of Mona Lisa’s character concerning her smile claim, for example, that it indicates that she is “merciless” or a “femme fatale.” There are claims that the smile suggests a medical problem with cholesterol, with a doctor in Palermo even being able to identify symptoms of the disease in her, such as a benign tumor located in her right eye. On the other hand, conspiracy enthusiasts believe what we see in the eyes is a secret code, with the letters LV on the right side, CE and B on the left eye, and probably the number 72 somewhere.

Some claim that focusing on the Mona Lisa’s eyes will make you see her smile more prominently. Others believe focusing on the eyes means the smile will look less happy.

the mona lisa eyes

The Mona Lisa Effect (Or: The Eyes Looking At You)

You know those pictures of haunted houses in horror movies, where the eyes move every time someone walks by? So first of all, they should stop with that because these are usually foolish scenes, far from being scary or thrilling. And yet, it is connected to the creepy facts about Mona Lisa.  First, Some claim that this effect exists in the Mona Lisa drawing. No matter what angle you look at the painting from, you can feel that the figure’s eyes are looking right at you, thanks in part to da Vinci’s sophisticated use of shadows and angles.

In fact, the feeling that the painting is watching us from every angle we stand around it is called the “Mona Lisa effect.” Painters used this technique in many other works across history. An extensive study conducted in Germany, by the way, showed that the Mona Lisa herself does not have the effect that is named after her.

Was Mona Lisa An Escort?

Think Mona Lisa is a respected noblewoman? Think again. There are theories that the subject of the world-famous painting engaged in the oldest profession in the world, or other words, was an escort. However, this theory seems to be quite tenuous. One of the main “findings” used by those who argue about the lady’s sources of income was simply the fact that her hair in the painting looks long and disheveled. At that time, mainly prostitutes would leave their hair like that. The reconstruction carried out by the scientists from Canada showed that the hair was probably tied up to some extent, so perhaps Mona Lisa was not a prostitute, walking around with such promiscuous and prostitute-like hair.

Another argument, which may sound even stranger to you today, is that the fact that Mona Lisa has almost no facial hair may indicate that she was engaged in prostitution. Again, because mainly prostitutes would have their facial hair removed then. Some claim that if you enlarge the painting and use advanced techniques to examine its data, you can see a few hairs, fortunately for Lisa.

creepy mona lisa picture (made with AI)

Is Mona Lisa Pregnant?

With or without regard to Mona Lisa’s profession, there are theories that her hands in the painting are crossed over her stomach to hide her pregnancy. Factually, in the years when we believe da Vinci painted the portrait, Lisa Del Giocondo was indeed pregnant with her second child.

In 2006, some Canadian scientists made a 3D reconstruction of the painting and noticed something resembling a scarf around the Mona Lisa’s neck. History suggests that during the Renaissance, women would wear scarves of this type during pregnancy or after giving birth.


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Where Exactly Is The Mona Lisa Sitting?

The landscape in the background of the painting, around the Mona Lisa, also raised several questions. Many tried to analyze them for the same mysterious bridge and mountain landscape in the background. They concluded that they did not correspond to any specific place in Tuscany, where we believe Da Vinci made the painting.

Some researchers believe the landscape comprises various elements that da Vinci saw on his travels worldwide. He created a fictional landscape from them, combining them into one. The painting is mainly abstract, or at least unbalanced, in part because the horizon line on both sides of the painting is not the same, which creates a feeling of imbalance.

On the other hand, a few years ago, an Italian art historian named Silvano Vinceti claimed that he had managed to identify the famous bridge in the painting, thanks in part to a careful examination of historical documents and drone use. According to him, it is a bridge called Ponte di Balle, located in a town called Laterina in the Arezzo region of Tuscany. Before you run there to see if he is correct, we should note that today, according to him, only one arch remains on this bridge. Other bridges associated with the painting are unsuitable because the number of arches in them is different, with Di Valle also noting that the background around the bridge is very similar to that in the painting itself.

How Much Does The Mona Lisa Cost?

More than 500 years have passed since Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, and the value of the painting is only increased over time. The fact that it is probably the most expensive painting in the world should not surprise you. Estimates of its value range from $800 million to $2.5 billion, with the actual value probably somewhere in the middle, around $2 billion.

The Mona Lisa price is so expensive that insurance companies are not prepared to insure it for the full amount. The Louvre has never insured the work for the full amount due to the astronomical costs involved, which is understandable. In the meantime, they are content with advanced protective measures, including, for example, a special glass container that masks temperature and humidity, bulletproof glass, and various elements that protect against UV radiation, which could damage a painting several hundred years old.

This glass is considered to be “to blame” for the fact that it is somewhat tricky to photograph the Mona Lisa reasonably because it can cause annoying reflections of light. If the next time you’re at the Louvre, you’re grinning at the hundreds of people taking pictures of the painting at the same time, instead of trying to be impressed by it, they might just be trying to get a standard photo, which will get them the likes that the world-famous painting is supposed to deserve.

The Mona Lisa Becomes An Icon

The Mona Lisa is the most reproduced work in the history of art. There are millions of copies of it in every possible form – from high-quality prints that try to look like the real thing to products and merchandise of all kinds. The Mona Lisa has become a cultural phenomenon and, later, a consumer one. You can find costumes of the Mona Lisa (and other classic works), a 3D Lego puzzle of the Mona Lisa as a work of art, action figures, mugs, and pictures of all shapes and sizes.

Interestingly, Da Vinci and his students created several copies of the painting, and you can find some of them in various museums across the globe. The most famous copy, the Prado Mona Lisa, has been in the renowned Museum in Madrid since 1819. In 2012, researchers concluded that a copy of the painting in the Museum had been stolen, and another painting was discovered beneath its top layer – A painting made by Francesco Melchi, one of da Vinci’s students. Melchi attempted to copy his teacher’s painting. The result is a nice one, with some differences in the age of the figure (who looks younger this time), the fact that, for a change, it includes eyebrows (the eyebrows may have disappeared from the mysterious painting over the years), and the Mona Lisa’s clothing.

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