La Gioconda, high quality copy after the painting in the Louvre, Paris, oil on canvas, 77 x 50.5 cm, framed

The Gioconda or Mona Lisa is the only portrait by Leonardo, the authenticity of which has never been seriously in dispute. Copies of the Mona Lisa before 1800 are rare, in particular in comparison with the numerous copies after other famous works of the Italian Renaissance, such as after Raphael or Michelangelo. The only probable explanation for this lies in the fact that the Mona Lisa left the possession of Leonardo directly for the collection of King François I of France and was not generally accessible after this date. It was only in 1800, after the Louvre was turned into a public museum and it acquired the Mona Lisa, that it was possible for the public to see the painting and to study it. Nonetheless, it was only in 1911, after the sensational theft of the Gioconda and its disappearance for two years, that the painting’s fame reached dizzy heights. This present painting, which Professor Mairinger dates to the 17th century on the basis of a technological examination, was thus executed at a time when the picture was only accessible to a few privileged people. It is without doubt executed a master.