When we study the Renaissance movement, we soon realize that the Italian Leonardo Da Vinci appears as one of the names that best represented those times. As a humanist, he embraced earthly themes with an intensity that allowed him to explore the most different areas of human knowledge. Among so many deeds accomplished in his lifetime, the painting “La Gioconda”, in which he portrayed a young woman named Mona Lisa, established itself at the height of its legacy.
With the passage of time, that picture of harmonious tones ended up being the result of several investigations into the life of the Italian painter and the young woman represented. Recently, a researcher named Giuseppe Pallanti published a work in which he tried to recover the life of that woman who was eternalized by the skillful hands of Leonardo Da Vinci. To make this possible, an arduous research work was carried out at the Municipal Archives of Florence, Italy.
Lisa Gerardhini, the model's real name, was married to a wealthy Florentine merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. Her last name, inflected for the female gender, ends up explaining the other name by which the portrayed was also known. In fact, at that time, it was quite common for members of the nascent bourgeoisie to employ amounts considerable to have their image reproduced or to play an artist as a form of prestige Social.
More than a reflection of a common habit among bourgeois, the research done on Mona Lisa is over indicated that her family and Da Vinci's family were on good terms and lived close to one of the other. At the time of the painting, through the analysis of the clothes used by Mona Lisa, studies indicate that she had just given birth to one of her five children or was pregnant. According to this same investigation, the work would have started in the year 1503 and finished three years later.
This information about Mona Lisa not only complements Da Vinci's legacy, it also undermines an old thesis of that the model would never have existed or that Gioconda, in fact, was a female self-portrait of the famous artist. At the same time, other scholars refute the thesis of the family relationship to claim that the production of the work would be the result of a joke by Giuliano Médici, who would have a love affair with Mona Lisa.
Although her intimate life is a mystery, this new set of collected information also suggests Gioconda's lifespan and burial place. According to Pallanti's data, she would have lived over sixty years and was probably buried in the Florentine convent of Santa Ursula, in 1542. While these other theses are circulating, a series of research involving Da Vinci's most acclaimed painting continues to unfold.
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Brazil School Team
Curiosities - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/mona-lisa-vizinha-vinci.htm
