Is the Mona Lisa a Real Person? The Real Story Behind the Painting

The Real Story of the Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is believed to be the most famous painting in the world. When a woman threw a teacup at the portrait in 2009, it reminded me of the intriguing story of how Leonardo created this masterpiece.

Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. It is thought that he continued to work on it for years and finished it shortly before he died in 1519. There are speculations about who the small portrait depicts. The most accepted theory is that it portrays Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of the wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Mona is an abbreviation of ma donna (or my lady) and a polite form of address, similar to Ma’am.

But there is a lot more to the origin of this picture than what we know nowadays. The secrets are revealed to us by Slava Sevrukova, one of the world’s most gifted psychics, as told by Hristo Nanev in his book Visions.

It was a summer day in 1503. Leonardo was strolling on a country road winding through vineyards spread on the hills of a mountainous area. Towards him was coming a carriage with freshly cut hay piled high. Next to the carriage was walking a peasant who was accompanied by his young wife. She was not an exceptional beauty, but there was a sort of heavenly charm flowing through her. The perceptive eye of the painter was instantly grabbed by her magnetic glow. He was greatly attracted to her, mesmerized by her enigmatic smile.

Intrigued by the peasant woman, Leonardo struck up a conversation with the couple, which he prolonged for as long as he could. The woman was a charming Italian peasant who was partially paralyzed. The smile created by the lift in the upper left corner of her lips was caused by the slight paralysis of a facial nerve. Her left arm was also paralyzed, and she was carefully holding it with her right hand. Yet Leonardo was instantly under the spell of the woman. It was love at first sight.

That was the only encounter Leonardo ever had with the woman. She never posed for him; however, her image was permanently imprinted on his mind. Inspired by the spiritual might of the suffering woman, seeing her as a symbol of humanity withstanding its plight with a smile, Leonardo continued for years to work on her portrait. The maestro shadowed the corners of her mouth, retouching the initial portrayal of the slight paralysis to create her enigmatic smile. He kept the characteristic pose of the woman just as he remembered her: her right hand carefully holding on to her paralyzed left hand.

He carried her portrait with him everywhere he went. He continued to work on it for the rest of his life, trying to faithfully express her magnetism and mesmerizing charm.

What caused the initial moment of awe? Leonardo’s spirit recognized the spirit of the woman and the great love they shared in a previous lifetime.

The woman that Leonardo met that fateful summer day was the one true love of his life. Her portrait, the Mona Lisa, was his greatest masterpiece.

What history tells us about the real Mona Lisa

Quick answer: Yes, the Mona Lisa was a real person. She was Lisa Gherardini (1479 to about 1542), a Florentine woman married to the silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Leonardo da Vinci began her portrait in 1503 and kept working on it for years. A note written in October 1503 by Florentine official Agostino Vespucci confirms that Leonardo was painting “Lisa del Giocondo.”

Who was the real Mona Lisa?

Lisa Gherardini was born in Florence on June 15, 1479. Her baptism appears in the city’s historic records. In 1495 she married Francesco del Giocondo, a prosperous merchant, which is why the painting is also known as La Gioconda in Italian and La Joconde in French.

“Mona” is a shortened form of “madonna,” meaning “my lady.” It was a polite way to address a woman, much like “Ma’am.”

How do we know she was real?

For centuries, the main source naming the sitter was the artist biographer Giorgio Vasari, who wrote about the portrait in 1550. Because Vasari wrote decades after the fact, some people doubted him.

In 2005, a librarian at Heidelberg University found a handwritten margin note in an early printed book. Agostino Vespucci, an assistant to Niccolò Machiavelli, wrote it in October 1503. He compared Leonardo to the ancient painter Apelles and mentioned the head of Lisa del Giocondo that Leonardo was working on. That note dates the portrait and names its subject.

The Louvre’s curator responded that it was now certain Leonardo was painting Lisa del Giocondo in 1503, while noting that absolute proof linking that portrait to the Louvre panel is harder to establish. Most historians accept the identification.

What is the Mona Lisa’s real life story?

Here is what the records tell us:

• 1479: Lisa is born in Florence.
• 1495: She marries Francesco del Giocondo.
• 1503: Leonardo begins her portrait, likely commissioned by her husband.
• 1503 to 1519: Leonardo keeps refining the painting and carries it with him when he moves to France.
• 1519: Leonardo dies in France. The painting later enters the French royal collection and eventually the Louvre.

Lisa lived a family life in Florence and raised several children. A parish death register in Florence records that she died in July 1542 and was buried at the convent of Sant’Orsola.

Why does her smile feel so alive?

Leonardo used a technique called sfumato, building up very thin layers of glaze so that edges and shadows melt into one another. The corners of her mouth and eyes are softly blurred, so her expression seems to shift as you look. That living quality is part of why the painting has held people’s attention for five centuries.

What can the Mona Lisa teach us about recognition?

Leonardo could not let this portrait go. He kept it close and kept working on it until the end of his life.

Many of us know that feeling with a person. You meet someone and feel a familiarity you can’t explain. A single encounter stays with you for years. In my past life regression work, people often discover that these powerful connections reach back across lifetimes.

If this resonates, explore Have You Loved Them Before? and Soulmates and Past Lives, or browse my Past Lives page.

How can you explore your own soul connections?

1. Notice the people who stay with you. Who left a lasting mark after a brief meeting?
2. Write about that first moment. What did you feel in your body and heart?
3. Ask what they awakened in you. Creativity, courage, tenderness or something else?
4. Explore further. A past life regression session can reveal where a connection began.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Mona Lisa a real person?

Yes. She was Lisa Gherardini, a woman from Florence married to the merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Leonardo da Vinci, who began the portrait in 1503 and worked on it for many years.

What does “Mona” mean?

It’s a short form of “madonna,” meaning “my lady,” a polite form of address in Italian.

How do we know who the Mona Lisa was?

Giorgio Vasari named her in 1550, and a 1503 note by Agostino Vespucci, found in 2005, confirms Leonardo was painting Lisa del Giocondo.

Where is the Mona Lisa today?

It hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

Curious whether someone in your life is a soul you have known before? Book a past life regression with Mira.