Mona Lisa

plural Mona Lisas · alternative rare Monna Lisa

1. with definite articleA portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci, widely considered to be the most famous painting in history.

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   For centuries, the Mona Lisa was a relatively obscure painting languishing in the private residences of kings—still a masterpiece, to be sure, but only one among many. Even when it was moved to the Louvre, after the French Revolution, it did not attract as much attention as the works of other artists[…]

   2011, Duncan J. Watts, Everything is Obvious, Crown Business, →ISBN, page 56

   If one were to ask the rhetorical question as to why one of the two original Mona Lisas has columns, and the other does not, the logical answer is that they are two separate compositions – with certain deliberate similarities, and with certain distinct differences of which only the artist was aware – and never intended to be copies of each other.

   2012, “[Connoisseurship: Critical Comparisons] The Vital Importance of the Columns”, in Mona Lisa: Leonardo’s Earlier Version, The Mona Lisa Foundation, →ISBN, page 204, column 1

   In order to better discuss the hidden portrait, discovered under the Louvre Mona Lisa, Figure 35 presents both the Louvre Mona Lisa and the Isleworth Mona Lisa beside Raphael’s drawing; then, Table 4 below raises some points of reference of this drawing (without considering the garment drawn by Raphael): (1) the columns, (2) the hairstyle, (3) the age of the model and (4) the landscape. These points will be considered in both Mona Lisas painted by Leonardo and in the model of the hidden portrait, seen in Figure 34.

   2022, Beatriz M. Mikusinski Zawislak, translated by Adriana Krainski, Mona Lisa and Her Mysteries, Editora AGE, →ISBN, page 97

2. The subject of the painting, Lisa del Giocondo, née Gherardini (1479–1542).

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   Beltraffio knew that she was a Napoletana, of an ancient family, the daughter of Antonio Gerardini, a grandee who had at one time been wealthy, but who had become ruined during the French invasion of 1495; and the wife of the Florentine citizen, Francesco dell' Giocondo, who had married Mona Lisa after being twice a widower.

   1961, Orville Prescott, The Undying Past, page 304

   Synonyms: Gioconda, Joconde

plural Mona Lisas · alternative rare Monna Lisa

1. figurativelyA masterpiece, an outstanding work.

   Now, in fifth grade, I’m still drawing stick figures and she’s making Mona Lisas.

   2021, Kate Biberdorf, Hillary Homzie, “An Educated Guess”, in The Birthday Blastoff, Philomel Books, →ISBN, page 10

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   This small and deceptively simple, but extremely interesting molecular system was rightly characterized by Cram and coworkers as ‘The Mona Lisa of Organic Chemistry’, because of its ability to elicit wonder, to stimulate imagination and, last but not least, by its enigmatic elusiveness and numerous outstanding features.

   2005, Zvi Rappoport, Joel F. Liebman, The Chemistry of Cyclobutanes, page 18

   I told him I didn't care if the painting was a Mona Lisa or pure nonsense, I just wanted him to have the experience of painting on canvas.

   2007, Tiffany Christensen, Sick girl speaks!: lessons and ponderings along the road to acceptance, page 128

2. figurativelyA woman who resembles the subject of this painting, renowned for her beauty and enigmatic smile.

   She let him take it and sat on, smiling very faintly. It was a Mona Lisa effort.

   1972, John Newton Chance, The dead tale-tellers, page 111

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   […]found Florence Thompson, the Mona Lisa of the 1930s, a migrant mother whose picture haunted the nation.

   1985, Bob Dotson, ...In pursuit of the American dream, page 4

   They saw each other at the same time, and their gazes met and held.[…]Alex's heart beat faster and harder. He smiled what felt like a Mona Lisa smile[…]

   2000, Edward A. Molnar, Shadows on a Mirror, page 188

   The panels depicting scenes from the life of Dionysos are framed with acanthus leaves, some of which form medallions, including one showing a fascinating woman who has come to be known as the Mona Lisa of Galilee.

   2005, Ariel Lewin, The Archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine, page 84

   It was all enhanced by Melissa's thin smile as she continued working like a Mona Lisa on Red Bull.

   2020, Michael Shenk, Always A Brother, page 108

   Synonyms: Joconde