The Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci's most famous portrait. It depicts Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant. Leonardo painted it between 1503-1506 using the sfumato technique, which gives the painting its mysterious and enigmatic atmosphere. The Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre museum in Paris where it continues to amaze millions of visitors with its elusive smile.

1. 1) Look at the picture of the most famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Then answer the questions.
a) What does Mona Lisa look like?
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b) What do you think she is like?
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2) Now read this text and answer the questions about it.
The Mona Lisa is a portrait of a lady by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is the most famous work of art in
the world. The Italian word Mona means “my lady” or “madam”, so this is the painting of
madam Lisa.
The identity of the woman in the picture is not clear enough. Experts believe she was Lisa
Gherardini. Lisa was Francesco del Giocondo’s wife, a rich merchant from Florence. That is the
reason why the portrait is called La Gioconda both in Italian and Spanish.
Leonardo probably painted the Mona Lisa between 1503 and 1506 in oil on a poplar wood
panel. Leonardo loved the painting, so he carried it with him wherever he went. King Francis I
of France bought the painting after Leonardo’s death. Today the painting hangs from the walls
of the Louvre museum in Paris.
But what is so special about this masterpiece? Some people say it is Mona Lisa’s smile,
attractive and mysterious. Others say it is the enigmatic way in which Mona Lisa looks at her
viewers, others believe the key is the sfumato technique used by Leonardo. Whatever it is,
Mona Lisa still amazes people from all over the world and will probably do so in the future.

2. a) What was the name of the woman who posed as “Mona Lisa”?
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b) When did Leonardo paint the Mona Lisa?
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c) What does the word “mona” mean?
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d) Which technique did Leonardo use?
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e) Where will you go today if you want to look at Mona Lisa?
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3) Other artists have tried painting their own versions of Mona Lisa. Look at these and compare them
using the adjectives below (use the comparative, superlative, as …as, …enough, too …, etc).