The recently restored Mona Lisa has the most regarded half smile of any master portrait, and archaeologists are close to discovering who may be the inspiration behind it. In 2008, researchers from Heidelberg University located a note scribbled by a Florentine clerk in the margins of a centuries old manuscript (1503) stating that da Vinci was rendering a portrait of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, wife of a wealthy and prominent silk merchant. The lady became a nun after her husband’s death. Just a year before the note’s discovery, an amateur historian happened upon Lady Gherardini’s death certificate. She died at age 65 on July 15, 1542, and was buried in Florence’s Saint Ursula convent.

The convent dates back to 1309 where it was later converted into a tobacco factory in the 19th century and sheltered World War II refugees in the forties. The structure is three stories high, with catacombs beneath its concrete floor. Archaeologists officially broke ground at the site on May 9 and have unearthed a skull. Once the remains have been verified through DNA testing compared with that of her deceased children, the team hopes that facial reconstruction can solve this mystery once and for all. Interestingly, in Italy Mona Lisa is nicknamed La Gioconda (“light-hearted woman”).

Other candidates for the role of Mona Lisa have included da Vinci’s mother Caterina, Princess Isabella of Naples, a Spanish lady named Costanza d’Avalos and Cecilia Gallerani, who posed for an earlier painting, The Lady With an Ermine. More interesting theories emphasize masculine facial features of the sitter, suggesting that da Vinci based the portrait on his own likeness or that of his apprentice and possible lover, Gian Giacomo Caprotti. Caprotti was known affectionately to da Vinci as Salai, who inherited the Mona Lisa upon the artist’s death. Art historian Silvano Vinceti, who heads the team’s dig, suggested that Mona Lisa could be interpreted as an anagram [Mon Salai], meaning “My Salai.”

Along with the skull, ribs and vertebrae were discovered by the excavation team. The skull will be studied by paleoanthropologist Francesco Mallegni. The truth behind this excavation will not only put to rest a mystery, but let us learn more about da Vinci’s approach to art. However, the dig has led to an uproar among a few of the remaining Florentine noble families, yet the discovery is also said to be an intriguing possibility:

“At first the thought of the dig horrified me but now I am fascinated,” said Natalia Guicciardini Strozzi, a member of one of the oldest and most influential Florentine families.

Completed between 1503-06, the Mona Lisa, recently underwent a much needed restoration. After five hundred years of preventative wear and tear, the Louvre moved in collaboration with the Labor­atoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France and the European Synch­rotron Radia­tion Facility to chemically analyze the world-famous painting. For decades the Louvre was nervous regarding possible damage to the careful layering of the painting. Researchers discovered that da Vinci used up to 30 layers on the famous work. It is theorized that he used walnut or linseed oil in application of opaque lighter colors over darker layers.

Those who have seen photos or the Mona Lisa in person may argue that the restoration steals from the original. What hundreds of generations past have known of the famous work by da Vinci is the monochromatic yellowing that comes with age and is associated with antiquity. Others would argue that the Mona Lisa, newly restored, as fresh from the easel as the day da Vinci applied the last layer is how the work should be experienced. Would da Vinci be honored and proud that his work has been thusly preserved? Most argue it to be the case.

Regardless of our feelings about “to restore or not to restore,” the Mona Lisa is a classic treasure which future generations will continue to enjoy, exploring the mysteries surrounding her creation. But just what is her secret?

Da Vinci’s Self-Portrait or “Light-Hearted Woman”

It is known that Leonardo da Vinci loved the painting so much that he carried it with him during his travels. What is the mystery behind the famous smile? The Mona Lisa is also know as La Gioconda from the Italian gioconda, or “light-hearted woman.” Is she another countryside Lady, or perhaps da Vinci himself? ABC news publicly reopened the question regarding the identity of the person portrayed in the portrait. A leading group of scientists and art historians at Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage is said to be unarchiving the artist’s skull from his burial site in France. They plan to utilize CSI technology to analyze and map the skull, comparing it to the dimensions of the face in the Mona Lisa. Those interested in the theory in the past have compared da Vinci’s features in his self-sketches to the Mona Lisa. What do you think?

Some have theorized that the Mona Lisa is a member of the Medici family – famous art patrons who are notably portrayed in many master’s works during the Renaissance. Mona is said to be a polite form of address for my Lady. Perhaps the relative is Isabella of Naples, Costanza d’Avalos – who was also called the “merry one” or La Gioconda, or Isabella d’Este. In Giorgio Vasari’s biography of Leonardo published in 1550, he states “Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife…” Similar varying notations of identity are referenced by other reputable sources, including Agostino Vespucci revealing Lisa del Giocondo as the sitter. The solution may not be that it is da Vinci himself, but rather a blend of the sitter and da Vinci’s likeness.

Da Vinci was a philosopher, mathematician, scientist and artist whose vast knowledge has added to our achievements in science and medicine, noting particularly the anatomical drawings of the artist. It would not be an unlikely hypothesis that the artist incorporated aspects of himself in this famous masterpiece. The wry smile of Mona Lisa, whether da Vinci in drag or Medici patron, will continue to inspire new generations in a new light.

Few paintings make the transition from museum circle legend to pop culture icon. We have our favorites, be it by Degas, da Vinci, or Duchamp.

Mona Lisa and The Scream

The above listed paintings are two examples of famous paintings that have achieved pop culture icon status. What else do these paintings have in common? The latter, The Scream, is a “study of my soul,” according to Munch, a universal expression of human anxiety according to others. Mona Lisa is supposed by some scholars to truly be da Vinci himself. But aside from being supposed or literal interpretations of the artist, these two artistic icons have something else in common – music.

Mona Lisa Inspires Nat King Cole

Not yet another rigid profile painting of nobility by a notable painter, Mona Lisa is a girl who captured the world by her secretive smile. As a painting, we can impress upon her any of our experiences and imagine who Lisa del Giocondo was, what her life might have been like. We can suppose what his life might have been like, for those who favor the theory that da Vinci disguised himself in her. For those who do favor the theory, it may interesting to note Marcel Duchamp, among others, created L.H.O.O.Q. as an artistic parody of the original, including a mustache, goatee, and flattering inscription of “Elle a chuad au cui,” translated as “She has a hot ass.”

“Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa? Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?” Nat King Cole asks this of the painting in a song that topped Billboard’s charts for eight weeks as the number one song in 1950. “Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep. They just lie there and they die there.” Mona Lisa is the woman the viewer can’t have, by her expression as much as she is a painting which inspired a chart topping song.

The Scream and Screamo?

Before creating his 1893 masterpiece, Edvard Munch was taking a stroll down 76th Drive in Forest Hills (Queens, New York) only to be struck down by a most invasive muse. Munch said that the painting was a study of his own soul, describing the moment of inspiration thusly,

“I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature.”

At this particular point in his artistic career Munch was struggling with a major bout of madness, and in the coming years underwent therapy which brought upon a new era in Munch’s art.

According to Bob Olson, a professor of contemporary music at Texas State University, it was a revolutionary moment in music heard from a nearby apartment that gave Munch more than an anxiety attack. “It’s just another example of great art begetting great art,” said Olson in a CNN.com article, “A genius in one medium inspiring a genius in another.”

Whatever Munch heard that day is not yet clear. Given the era, it certainly was not Screamo, but the sound incurred a similarly unique expression in Munch. Art begets art. Great art begets great art, and art changes lives.

We each have our favorite paintings, be it a part of a museum collection, a favorite of popular culture, or a local creation. It will be exciting to see what new revolutions in music inspire art and what artists we know today, be they locally or nationally recognized, who will create the next great art icon. Who knows what Jimi Hendrix or Lady Gaga may have secretly inspired?

Until we find out, explore Mona Lisa, The Scream, and other iconic favorites at overstockart.com.

overstockArt.com, released today a list of the top 10 oil paintings featured in the media in the last decade. Topping the list is Leonardo Da Vinci’s internationally revered Mona Lisa. Oil paintings by master artists Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, and Johannes Vermeer also made the list.

The list was composed according to appearances of the art in newsstands, television shows and motion pictures. The data was gathered using media aggregators and public Google trends statistics.


“Oil paintings were featured across all media platforms throughout the last decade – the most memorable being Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa,” said David Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com. “Da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece was at the heart of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ craze and we might see a revival of that as the next Dan Brown thriller comes out in the coming decade.”

The oil paintings that received the most media attention in the last decade are:

1. The Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci – featured in the #1 best selling book of the decade and the 2006 blockbuster movie “The Da Vinci Code,” starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.
2. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Gustav Klimt – according to Forbes magazine, Adele is the most expensive oil painting in history. The painting was purchased by Ronald S. Lauder, the cosmetics tycoon, in 2006 for a record breaking $135 million. Today it is proclaimed as Manhattan’s Mona Lisa as it hangs in the Neue Galerie in New York City.
3. Girl with Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer – subject of the 2003 film “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.
4. Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh - according to overstockArt.com’s statistics, Starry Night was the most popular and best-selling oil painting of the last decade.
5. Le Rêve (The Dream in French), Pablo Picasso – In an accident witnessed by a group that included Barbara Walters and screenwriters Nora Ephron and Nicholas Pileggi in 2006, casino magnate Steve Wynn accidentally created a 6-inch tear in Picasso’s 74-year-old painting. Before the incident, he had agreed to sell Le Rêve for $139 million to Steven A. Cohen, thus making it the most expensive sale of all time. Needless to say Wynn kept the painting and has had it restored.
6. Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress, Frida Kahlo – featured in the 2002 biopic “Frida,” starring Salma Hayek and Mía Maestro.
7. The Café Terrace, Vincent van Gogh – according to overstockArt.com’s statistics, The Café Terrace was the second-highest sold oil painting of the last decade. The small coffee shop in Arles has become one of Southern France’s most sought after attractions.
8. Untitled, Mark Rothko – has become the talk of the town ever since it has been featured on the AMC’s Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning series “Mad Men.”
9. The Scream, Edvard Munch – In 2004, the most treasured Modern Art Nordic piece, The Scream, by Edvard Munch, was stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. The painting was later recovered in 2006. The Scream sustained considerable damage and had to be restored before going back on display in 2008.
10. Poppies near Vetheuil, Claude Monet – one of the four paintings stolen from the Buehrle Foundation museum in Zurich in 2008. The painting was later recovered by Swiss police.

According to Sasson, there is a connection between sales and media placement, “A lot of people like to keep up with the latest trends in design, and the media is a key influencer in what is deemed hip and desirable.” In 2007 The Mona Lisa was named overstockArt.com’s seventh top-selling oil painting of the year. “This is a prime example of the correlation between sales and media placement of oil paintings. The Mona Lisa did not make the annual Top Ten list until after ‘The Da Vinci Code’ film was released and the renowned work of art was featured in it.”

In the past decade overstockArt.com sold more than a million oil paintings. They are one of the Web’s most successful distributors of wall décor items with over 10,000 daily visitors and 100,000 loyal customers.

overstockArt.com, the leader in handmade oil painting art reproductions, has officially released its Top 10 list of the most popular oil paintings from the past decade. Topping the list is Vincent van Gogh’s irrefutable magnum opus, Starry Night.

“We release an annual Top 10 list and thought it would be interesting to look back over the past decade to determine the trendiest and most sought after hand painted oil painting reproductions,” said David Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com. “Not surprisingly, the notoriously eccentric artist, Van Gogh, leads the list with his masterpieces Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night.” According to overstockArt.com’s statistics, Van Gogh’s total sales numbers have far exceeded those of any of the other great masters.

TOP 10 OIL PAINTINGS OF THE DECADE Most popular art on the planet: courtesy of overstockArt.com

RANK ARTIST MASTERPIECE #1 Vincent Van Gogh Starry Nightt #2 Vincent Van Gogh Cafe Terrace at Night #3 Gustav Klimt The Kiss #4 Claude Monet Poppy Field at Argenteuil #5 Leonardo Da Vinci The Mona Lisa #6 Pablo Picasso Le Rêve (The Dream) #7 Pierre Auguste Renoir Luncheon of the Boating Party #8 Edvard Munch The Scream #9 Georgia O'Keeffe Red Cannas #10 Salvador Dali Persistence of Memory

In the past decade overstockArt.com sold more than a million oil paintings. They are one of the Web’s most successful distributors of wall décor items with over 10,000 daily visitors and 100,000 loyal customers. “As the Modern Art movement was conquering the auction floors getting record breaking numbers in Sotheby’s and Christie’s, we slowly became the destination for art lovers who could not afford the high price tags of galleries, but wanted to enjoy the hand painted art of the great masters in their homes,” explained Sasson.

One of the interesting points that the top 10 oil paintings of the decade presents is that the modern artists from the turn of the last century such as Van Gogh, Monet and Klimt are still the most desirable artists in the world. “Our numbers indicate that as the years turn and our world evolves some things remain consistent,” said Sasson. “People are still captivated by the elegance and beauty that the classic artists bring to their home. It will be interesting to see when, if ever, this trend begins to fade.”