Mona Lisa

Title

Leonardo gave no known title to the painting. The title Mona Lisa stems from the Giorgio Vasari biography of Leonardo, published 31 years after Leonardo's death. In it he identified the sitter as Lisa, the wife of wealthy Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo. "Mona" is a common Italian contraction of "madonna", meaning "my lady", so the title means "Lady Lisa".

Related Topics:
Giorgio Vasari - Florentine - Francesco del Giocondo - Italian - Madonna

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The alternative title La Gioconda is the feminine form of Giocondo. In Italian giocondo means 'light-hearted' ('jocund' in English), so "gioconda" means "light hearted woman". Because of her smile, this version of the title plays on this double-meaning, as in the French "La Joconde".

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Both Mona Lisa and La Gioconda became established as titles for the painting in the 19th century. Before these names became established, the painting had been referred to by various descriptive phrases, such as "a certain Florentine lady" and "a courtesan in a gauze veil."

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