January 21, 2010 - Oli, Age 14 - Adelaide, Australia I think that the mona lisa is da'vinci's image of Mary Magdalene. December 3, 2009 - Eileen Warth - Auckland, New Zealand Having stumbled on your website, I thought I would send you my thoughts on the identity of Mona Lisa. A few months ago, I read this quote from Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910): "When Mama smiled, beautiful as her face was, it grew incomparably more lovely, and everything around seemed brighter." The words unexpectedly brought the 'Mona Lisa' painting to mind and I found myself wondering if Leonardo da Vinci may have painted his memory of his mother, or how he imagined she may have been. My reasons: 1. The softness of the appearance of Mona Lisa’s mouth and the relaxed nature of her eyes is often seen when a mother looks with contentment at her child. It is not a smile. It is an expression of inner pleasure. 2. 'Mona Lisa' is painted without adornment, jewellery, special hair treatment, or even special clothing. In this respect, she is very much as many of us remember our mothers in our early years, ie personality is a stronger memory from early childhood than visual decoration. (It will be remembered Leonardo da Vinci was separated from his mother at an early age.) 3. The very subtle smoky blurring of edges, which I understand is called "sfumato”, is consistent with the blurring of memory as years pass. 4. While contemplating the inclusion of a headband across the forehead of ‘Mona Lisa’, Leonardo may have pondered thus, “Mm, women of her day often wore bands across their foreheads. Mama may have worn one. Not sure. I’ll give her one, but keep it minimal.” 5. People have long noticed a similarity between the 'Mona Lisa' and Leonardo da Vinci's self portrait. This is entirely understandable if they shared the same genes. The hair of ‘Mona Lisa’ and of Leonardo’s self portrait are particularly similar. 6. The painting was never delivered to a client. Strange when one considers it is da Vinci's best known work. I read that da Vinci worked on the ‘Mona Lisa’ painting for several years. Strange too, when one considers da Vinci’s prolific output. Perhaps there was no client. There was certainly no time constraint. 7. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have kept the 'Mona Lisa' with him. People who have little or no memory of their mother (or father) will often hold very dear any such fragment they possess. The background of the Mona Lisa painting also speaks to me in support of the above theory, but I have shared enough of my thoughts! And so it is I contend that ‘Mona Lisa’ may perhaps be ‘Catarina’/’Caterina’, the birth mother of Leonardo da Vinci. October 10, 2009 - Giancarlo Gianazza - Italy About Mona Lisa http://www.peturs.net/gop/GiancarloGianazza/torg.htm Best Regards Giancarlo Gianazza October 2, 2009 - Michel Van de gaer - Belgium I love your site, it's funky, btw I believe I might have the actual theory about the magic of the Mona Lisa, it is based on a physics hypothesis. It's a bit technical but if you take a look at my website you'll probably understand it, and find it intriguing. Here is the link: http://800millionparticles.blogspot.com"> Please have a look, and scroll a bit down to where I address the Mona Lisa. June 20, 2009 - Julia Tang, Age: 13 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Mona Lisa, A.K.A. La Gioconda or La Joconda is one of Leonardo Da Vinci's most renowned piece of art. What makes it so famous is her mysterious smile, which has lead to conspiracy buffs and mysterious interpretations by many art historians. But what is the secret to her smile? Da Vinci claimed that the Mona Lisa was his finest accomplishment, and he carried it with him everywhere he went for the rest of his life. He even mentioned that it was hard to part with such a beauty. Actually, the Mona Lisa was an ordinary sfumato painting. Sfumato is a painting technique which artists use to overlay translucent layers of color to create a sense of depth, volume, and form. The word "sfumato" means "smoky" in Italian and is derived from the word fumo meaning "smoke". Many historians and critics have argued whether or not the Mona Lisa is smiling. This is due to the use of sfumato around her mouth, making it a mystery whether her smile is a result of the shadow around her mouth or the shadow is a result of her smile. In fact, if you looked at other painings by Da Vinci, you'll notice he's incorporated the same peculiar expression. This includes works such as John the Baptist, La Belle Ferronniere, and Virgin and Child With Saint Anne. As well, Leonardo Da Vinci did not include eybrows or eyelashes in his painting of the Mona Lisa. This was actually normal considering that women with no eyebrows, or thin and subtle ones were considered attractive back then. In paintings such as Lady With A Unicorn, the Portrait of Isabella d'Este, and Margareta van Eyck, you'll notice that the eyebrows of the women are painted really subtely. Da Vinci was not a big fan of the church, despite having painted paintings like The Last Supper. It is said that he was interested in the balance between male and female, which adds to the theory of the Mona Lisa being both male and female. Another common theory was that the Mona Lisa was a self-portrait of Da Vinci himself, except as a woman. Scientists have compared the Mona Lisa with Leonardo Da Vinci's self-portrait and disovered a 97% match. Another less notable theory is that the Mona Lisa is an anagram for Amona and L'Isa, the Egyptian god and goddess of fertility. That is unlikely seeing as the name Mona Lisa post-dated Da Vinci, so we don't know what Da Vinci originally called the painting. As well, if you look closely at the painting, you'll notice that the background on the left side is significantly lower than on the right, making the painting look bigger from the left side. Symbolically, the concept of male and female are assigned sides. Left is for female, and right is for male. It is said that Da Vinci was a big fan of feminine principles, so he made the painting look more majestic from the left than from the right. There have also been debates as to the identity of the Mona Lisa. Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo (abbr. Monna Lise del Giocondo), Constanza d'Avalos, Isabella d'Este, Isabela Gualandi, and Guilliano de Medeci's mistress, Pacifica Brandano are leading roles in the identity of the Mona Lisa. It has also been suspected that the Mona Lisa was Da Vinci's mother Caterina who possessed a mysterious smile. It could be that the Mona Lisa was a combination of Leonardo Da Vinci and his mother Caterina, which would explain why he claimed it was his best work and carried it with him throughout his life. May 18, 2009 - Aleshya, 13 - Medford, Oregon Mona Lisa means My lady Lisa or Madam Lisa in Italian. Now Mona Lisa could be a descendent of Mary Magdalene. For some people think that Mary was Jesus wife. So that could make Mona Lisa A descendent of Christ. April 23, 2009 - Katie, 25 - Arizona Mona Lisa's smile is a mystery.However I think that she refused to smile because she loved Da Vinci. See Lisa thought that once finished Leo would sell the painting to her family and forget her.While confessing she was crying.After she said that Leonardo said that he would carry it with him for the rest of his life,and that maid Lisa feel a little bit betterSo that explains her smile. They also say that it is a self portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci as A woman. March 7, 2009 - Anonymous Mine is more that a guess. It is better than scholarly. It is revelatory. One clear night, I looked at the full moon and saw, not the man in it, not the face of Jackie Gleason, but the face of Mona Lisa, vividly. I watched her face on the surface of the moon in awe for a long time. She was clear. I was clean and sober. I have no history of mental illness. The subject of Leonardo's painting was perfectly obvious to me -- Mona -- the moon (explains other worldly "moon scape" background of painting.) I tore myself away from the vision long enough to call two friends on the phone, one of them long distance in Michigan. I told them to drop whatever they were doing and look at the moon. Just stop. Look at it. Hurry! I went back out, found a place to sit, and watched the vision until it became obscured by clouds. I understood the secret of the smile. I knew Leonardo's secret. Mona is the eternal feminine. She smiles down at us every night. This seemed to be a very good thing. A sort of strength and power in her illumination. The vision was so clear and real to me, I fully expected to hear about the apparition on CNN or in the papers the next day. And I was actually surprised to find nothing. I called my friends to follow up. Had they seen? They hadn't bothered to look. So I was alone. Madness? Nah. Projection? Maybe. Or perhaps -- perhaps I'm a remarkably privileged man. Blessed even. I share a secret with Leonardo. I look at the moon often now. I haven't seen her again, and really don't expect to. Such a vision is clearly a one-time thing. I therefore consider it my responsibility to grapple with this vision, "get it" somehow, figure out what in the world it has to do with me. Maybe this experience will ring a bell with someone else out there and round out another theory of Mona. Thanks for letting me share. January 10, 2009 - Anonymous i think that she was davincis true love, however was married she has placed her hands over her stomach, perhaps hiding pregnancy. and as for her smile, it is my personal opinion that she could be smiling over us all forever asking why she is smiling i think the smile looks a little amused/smug, however sad and happy so i think she's laughing at us for our obsession with her. whichever theory is correct, we will never know all we know is that she is one of the most intriguing women in history, and her beauty and mysteries will last forever. December 16, 2008 - Anonymous Mona Lisa (the painting) proves that Da Vinci was not only a master psychologist, but also a predictor of events that would play out through the course of history. When the painting teaches us to focus.....the eyes become the gateway to a black screen which produces endless stories about the world. Did we really descend from apes? Did Leonardo know about Boeing 747’s? Does the dirt path become a modern highway that we move along from behind a windshield? Leonardo provided a gateway to another dimension when painting the Mona Lisa. It certainly makes one wonder if the top corner really does have a mushroom cloud. I would guess that amongst many of the beautiful people appearing from within the blackness many modern events may/are predicted..... Just a guess. December 2, 2008 - Anonymous I was staring at this picture because she looks like my boyfriend. So maybe that's why I began to see that the left half of her face is very masculine, and the right half is feminine. I imagine that the background scene in the left half of the picture is where "the man" lives, and the right half is where "the woman lives". Then maybe the top hand belongs to the man, and the right hand belongs to the woman. Maybe the man and woman are Leonardo and Mona Lisa, or maybe some other guy and Mona. Just a thought. November 24, 2008 - Anton Cruysheer, Hilversum - The Netherlands I think I discovered the meaning of the smile of Mona Lisa. It was kind of a trick of Leonardo da Vinci. Pay attention, here is comes! Remember how Leonardo plays with mirrors? For example, his writings are backwards, so you'll need a mirror to read it correctly. In the painting there's kind of the same thing hapening. For a long time people always wondered wether or not Mona Lisa is smiling. The answer is; yes and no. Leonardo played a trick with the viewers mind by using a mirror. When you print out a copy of the painting you can discover yourself. Draw a line in the middle of her eyes from hair to chin, than fold the paper in two (with the line in the middle). Put one half of the face on a mirror and there you go, Mona Lisa is really smiling, no question about it!! Now, use the other half and put it on the mirror, and there you'll have a really ugly faced woman with her two eyes looking at her own nose! That's very funny. What Leonardo might want to say with this is a kind of lesson in atonomy, like each face has two sides, each person has a good and bad side, inner thought and outer show/expression. I think it's a masterpeace. Am I really the first person to make this discovery?! October 21, 2008 - Hugo Jenks August 14, 2008 - Abi Mulholland My theory of why the Mona Lisa is smiling like so is that she was thinking about Francesco del Giocondo and she couldn't wait to get home & see him and her children. June 7, 2008 - Tamsin West - London, England My theory: On seeing the Mona Lisa in the flesh, many people complain of their disappointment at the painting's size. There is a theory that the canvas was once much larger than its present dimensions. What appears to be a balcony behind Lisa del Giocondo is said to be recognizable as part of a window in a stone building, with various objects around to suggest that it is in fact an early lighthouse: navigational aids, nautical equipment, olive oil (to fuel the lantern) and a painting of an actual lighthouse. While the landscape in the background is clearly imaginary, the building is believed to be based on a construction in the real world. It is most likely the Torre della Lanterna of Genoa (built in 1128) since it is alleged that the Genoese coat of arms is also visible in the original Mona Lisa. Why Da Vinci chose this lighthouse as the painting's setting is unknown, but it could have something to do with one of its keepers at the time: Antonio Colombo, uncle of Christopher Columbus. The famous explorer and Da Vinci were born within a year of each other in Northern Italy and, although it remains to be proven that they had any personal contact, it is certain they knew of one another's work. Christopher Columbus could be the key to unlocking Leonardo's interest in "La Lanterna". It's unknown why Da Vinci chose to depict the lighthouse, but even more mysterious is why anyone would wish to erase this fact from history. It has been alleged that when Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa in 1911 the canvas was tampered with, but photographs predating the theft clearly show the painting to be the same size it is today. No photographic evidence exists to corroborate the theory of the larger Mona Lisa, so it can only be assumed that, if it is true, the canvas must have been cropped before the advent of photography. Sketches by Leonardo exist which show a sitting figure with the unmistakable smile of Lisa del Giocondo, in a spacious room filled with objects similar to those mentioned above, but even if it were proven that these were first attempts at the Mona Lisa it does not mean that the finished piece looked the same. It is not known why anyone would benefit from concealing historical facts in this way, but the chilling evidence that someone did indeed wish to hide the additional parts of the Mona Lisa (or at least the idea of them) came in 2002 when Professor Donaldson of Cambridge University was murdered. The previous year he had provisionally outlined the above theories to the world, adding that he would bring together his years of research in a revelatory book on the subject, called 'Mona's Missing Parts'. Unfortunately the book was never released, and most of the alleged evidence for his assertions remains hidden. Professor Donaldson was an admired academic in his sixties who lived in rural Cambridgeshire with his four dogs. The only theory offered to explain his killing is that someone saw the release of his book as an event that had to be prevented at all costs. I am now researching this subject with a view to understanding whether there is any truth in Professor Donaldson's theories and why, regardless of their validity, the fact that they were going to be made public resulted in cold-blooded murder. I have only accounts of conversations he had with others about his ideas, rather than Donaldson's own writings, and there is barely any other information about his Mona Lisa project except for reports of his death that mention it in passing (the only extended coverage was on BBC News 24, which first alerted me to this whole matter). May 23, 2008 - Is it possible that the Mona Lisa is a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, not dressed as a woman but perhaps Leonardo da Vinci WAS a woman. The name Mona Lisa derived of AMON L'ISA (male god/female god) is a clue. The almost perfect match of the Mona Lisa with the male self portrait. Romantically linked to males. A poor talented child not able to succeeded in 1400's as a female, the father disguised her as a male. Just a thought. May 4, 2008 - Anonymous what monna sying in her/his childish smile is i know something you dont know and i'm not going to tell you. keep on guessing April 23, 2008 - Zachol Liberto, Age 19 - California First off, to know about Leonardo's Mona Lisa, we have to know about Leonardo and his other work as well. Leonardo painted a self portrait of himself, which can be seen here: Da Vinci Portrait Leonardo carries this painting, the Mona Lisa, with him throughout his life until his death in Amboise, France. Leonardo was born in Florence, Italy, so why would he carry this painting with him that far for? One common theory is that Leonardo painted this picture for a banker's wife. Mona, which is short for Ma Donna, or My Lady, and Lisa, which is the name of the banker's wife. Therefore, My lady Lisa. Although there are some convincing guesses as well as backed up evidence, it isn't 100%. For example, why didn't Leonardo give this painting to the banker or his wife after he's done with it? Why did he bother carrying it around with him his entire life? Another theory is that the Mona Lisa is in fact a self-portrait of Leonardo, but as a woman. This theory is also believable since scholars have aligned the Mona Lisa along with Leonardo's self portrait and found out that these 2 different paintings have a 97% match. You can see the comparison here: Mona Lisa & Da Vinci This theory would explain why Leonardo was carrying this painting around with him all the time. However, this doesn't explain why Leonardo would paint himself as a woman (he could have done this because he had free time and wanted to know what he would look like as a woman, it doesn't seem TOO weird to view it this way) nor does it explain the peculiar smile (the smile could just have been a normal smile that Leonardo painted a bit weird, we could have simply over-analyzed it). As for the eyebrow, women in those days are thought of as attractive without eyebrows, that's normal. April 21, 2008 - Aditi, Age 16 - Mumbai, India Mona Lisa's smile is a mystery. She smiles like a child. It's as if she's teasing or blackmailing some one. It's as if her smile says that "Yeah, I know it. I know the truth. But I won't tell you." It's strange. According to me Mona Lisa was just a imaginary person, who did not exist, ever. Her smile, her eyes are hypnotizing. It can catch anyone's attention and hold you for a long time! She looks evil, jinxed rather. April 8, 2008 - Deborah, Age 37 - Green Valley, AZ "The look...of love..." When theorizing in regards to a work of genius such as this painting, one must also take into account all the attempts to desacrilize the work and the motive behind these attempts. Good luck!,P. The reason behind her smile is no mystery. She loved Da Vinci, but was already married to another man. He loved her, but she was a married woman, so he could not be with her...but did spend the rest of his life working on her painting, which has been reported as to have been unfinished. Those who understand reincarnation, if not the concept of karma, can hypothesize till the cows come home as to the identity of the soul of "Mona Lisa", and Leonardo Da Vinci, as well as their sexual orientation, although the public would never get an honest answer. Such is life. March 24, 2008 - Lazifa, Age 12 - Azerbaijan, Baku We have always wondered why Mona Lisa is so famous. What was Leonardo trying to say? Leonardo never finished his work, but then why did he finish this unique piece of art? What was so important that he finished it? There are many theories, if only I could see Lisa Gherardini now. Mona Lisa is not a goddess of beauty and her clothes were quite simple. Her smile is quite astonishing, is it a smile of sorrow or happiness? Where are her eyebrows? You can see a distant outline of eyebrows, possibly she was a blonde with blonde eyebrows but wore a wig to cover her real identity. The background consists of dark colors and rocks maybe even a canyon. Her skin is full of different shades. What was he trying to say with this background? Artists normally paint trying to show their feelings. Maybe Mona Lisa was Lisa Gherardini but he added different shades of dark colors to show his pain, confusion, grief, and possibly loneliness. There are no rings or earrings or bracelets, so this might show that this was a poor citizen. We will never know the real truth behind this mysterious painting, but it will always stay famous for the secret it hides. March 11, 2008 - Anne Craig, Age 18 - Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. My theory about Mona Lisa is that she was Leonardo's lover. They were secretly seeing each other. "Mona Lisa" knew of Leo's ability to paint and wanted to be painted herself. After she was painted, the picture got out, but Leo could never reveal who it was a painting of, or their inimate secret would go public. The two lovers could not continue their relationship, but still had the "mona lisa" picture to remember their romances together. NOW, the mystery is solved!!! December 21, 2007 - Lisa Lathrop, Age 43 - Minot, ND - USA These theories are all wonderful! They are exactly what being the "viewer" is all about...wondering what the artist intended when he/she created a particular piece of art. Is the Mona Lisa really about the background? Interesting! Perhaps the Mona Lisa was indeed a comissioned work and the woman wasn't happy about posing but Leonardo gave her a smile anyway. Remember, a painting takes much longer to create than the "snap" of the camera. Mona Lisa's facial expression likely changed many many times as she posed. My young art students know "there is never one correct answer in art" and this is certainly true about the Mona Lisa. Unless of course, we were to have the good fortune to hear it from Leonardo daVinci's lips himself. December 10, 2007 - Anonymous The Mona Lisa portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci (painted around 1502) is truly outstanding. What makes it so could simply be her eyes. Eyes really do explain a lot about people. Or maybe it's the fact that she has no eyebrows or eyelashes. But most people are stumped by her mysterious and lovely smile. I am one of the many. I can't help but to laugh when I hear about her "emotion recognition". Does it really matter that she's 9% disgusted? Some people believe it is. But honestly, can we really spend all of our time peering over her smile? The thing with her smile is probably her emotions. A smile is a personal, and good thing. And that's that. She could have been thinking, "Oh man! get me out of here!" or maybe something like, "Rats! I have to do the dishes when I get home." I don't know. The real mystery, lies with her eyes, eyebrows, and hands. What do you think? Do me a favor: next time you come across the Mona Lisa, actually look at it. Ask questions, come up with ideas, ponder this and that. And maybe sometime soon, we will come up with an answer to her mystery. October 23, 2007 - Terrence Lovett, Age 38 - Queens, Ny I love the Mona Lisa painting and have studied it many times, just looking for something, anything. I feel what countless other people feel about this painting, there's so much mystery. Well I've made a great discovery about the painting. Mona has a pet squirrel sitting right on her right shoulder. The winding trail people see in the back is actually the foot and front left leg of the squirrel and the tail extends behind mona over her left shoulder. Here's my theory, Leonardo thought it would be nice to paint this amazing woman with the pet squirrel and Mona is smiling because her little pet won't be still. October 22, 2007 - Yari, Age, 22 - Orlando, FL USA Although there are many theories on this famous piece of art, I can’t help but wonder if people’s convictions have been altered. Many have written that she might be Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ wife and that the reason for her smile is that she knew she was bearing a child that belong to him. I mean, seriously, is that what this has come down to? I greatly doubt it and if you were an active Christian and read the bible, obviously you’d see that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute…and why would Jesus marry a person of that demeanor, even after she was forgiven. Didn’t Jesus preach holiness and purity? Jesus had one reason for being down here, to save us and bring everlasting life. How can you relate a painting with Jesus’ existence? My guess is, a long with many others….that the Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of its artist. As we know, da Vinci led a secret life and it is believed that he was a homosexual. He probably just wanted to uncover that truth without being rejected and therefore making this the biggest mystery yet. He was the Mona Lisa, probably an alter ego. He simply wanted to portray his feminine side. And who can blame him? But doesn’t that make more sense than saying that Mona Lisa was Mary Magdalene? October 18, 2007 - Mackenzie, Age 14 - Kansas The Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystique, questions, and amazing beauty. I think that until we go to heaven and meet the painter himself we will never know all of the answers. But as far as my theory goes, i think that Mona Lisa may not have been painted by whom we think it may have been. Or, at least, the altercations we know to have taken place were not done by him. We know that the painting has been painted over many times before art experts got ahold of it. The original painting had Mona in a different position, her smile was larger, her face broader, and the background was different. Who's to say that Leonardo made all changes? There is no signature on the top layer, and until someone lifts his prints from it, we can not be sure that he actually altered the top-most layer. Why would he have changed his painting so many times and so drastically, even if he did not like it? He wouldn't have, he would have started over. As for who Mona is, i'm quite sure that she was based off a model, as is highly believed, but i think she had a deeper meaning to the painter. She, in Leonardo's heart, probably represented someone special to him. That may be why her smile is so attractive. He poured his heart and soul in to this painting creating the peek of all his works, if he did paint it at all. Who's to say, maybe the Da Vinchi code is right, and the Mona Lisa is a fraud. But that is not for me to decide. October 3, 2007 - Kathryn Moeck, Age 10 - Canada I think that the Mona Lisa is smiling because Leonardo Da Vinci was painting another picture, didn't like it, and painted the Mona Lisa over it. The smile belonged to another picture. October 3, 2007 - Jaret Panta, Age 10 - Canada I think that the Mona Lisa is smiling because someone had looked at her and she had just stolen something. September 26, 2007 - Alvina, Age 11 - New Zealand I think that the mona lisa is no ordinary painting. It is probably a photo. Well, either way,the smile is quite puzzling. It seems disgusted, happy, angry, sad, calm and restless all in one. Her neck is a bit thick. For a woman, it seems to have a lot of fat. I wonder if that would make her voice a bit different, perhaps more deeper than the average womans. Another thing that stunned me was the eyes. They follow you wherever you go. (which seems to make it look even more like a photo) Overall the Mona lisa is quite eerie and interesting to me. June 11, 2007 - Anonymous the smile is an invitation. ask any advertising man. this is a painting for a man. have you experienced this. you are walking towards a woman. 2 feet before you pass your eyes lock. eyes still locked, heads turn, an inviting smile, and she lifts her chin everso lightly. the chatter and music is muffled and everything around her face is faded of out of focus. all in a matter of 2-3 seconds. you want to hold on as long as you can or remember. how would a woman communicate this experience in a painting? with men it is vision. with woman it would be the written art. March 4, 2007 - Ali Bilal, Age 11 - Galveston, Texas The Mona Lisa is the most mysterious painting of all time drawn by the Italian artist Leonardo de Vinci. My theory on who the Mona Lisa is that I think the Mona Lisa was really Leonardo de Vinci grandmother. I think this because his grandmothers name was Monna Lucia which is like the name Mona Lisa. I think that While drawing his grandmother Leonardo de Vinci changed the shape of his granmother making her look younger. He also changed her name so no one could know the real identity of the woman and he painted a smile to make the woman look mysterious. This is my theory. March 3, 2007 - Lost Shado, Age 54 - Indiana After looking very cosely at both The Mona Lisa and The Last Super paintings, I noticed, if you compare the woman to the right of Jesus to Mona the simularities are many. Da Vinci was thought to believe that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. If in fact this was his belief, could the woman in the last supper depict Mary? If this theory was plausible, possibly Mona is Da Vinci's Mary after the crucifiction. Which may explain the difference in the background of Mona. One side could represent before crucifiction and the other after.This would explain the dark clothing and lack of adorning jewlery, as she would have been in mourning. Taking these theories as possible the smile now might be from Mona being depicted as being with child. The smile is of the knowledge of knowing that her "husband" still lives within her. One definition of Mona means noble or nobility.One definition of Lisa means God's child. March 3, 2007 - Cache Carter, Age 12 - Boise, Idaho I think that mona lisa was a lady off the street that he wanted to paint. March 3, 2007 - Allie, Age 11 - New Jersey 0ne of the question we all wonder till this day is the mona lisa's smile. is she happy? sad? or what ? well i always thought her smile was a mystery, it's like she is holding a secret that only she knew. everytime i see her smile i think that her smile shows a secret ..... that still remains a mystery. February 25, 2007 - Jessi Nenson, Age 14 - Canada My theory is if you flip the eyes an mouth on the mona lisa you get a sad mona. February 24, 2007 - John Pryor, Age 40 - England The answer is the background not the picture of the mona lisa. the mona lisa in some theories is the wife of jesus who fled to france after the death of jesus. da vinci is teasing the viewer of the picture to look at the female depicted in the picture, being drawn to the eyes and pondering the smile. but what if the background was the real reason for the picture. December 14, 2006 - Anonymous No matter how long we stare and poke and x-ray and scan this picture, we will never know anything. Leonardo is most unfortunately dead, so we can never ask. My theory is simple. Mona Lisa is actually the wife of that rich italian man who wanted a picture of his wife painted. I think people find her smile so entrancing, they are led to believe so many strange tales about the picture ( as in, she's pregnant with Jesus's baby!? Still in shock over this one) Leo had a little fun putting riddles into the picture ( the strange backround) He noticed she had a nice smile and enhanced it to make the picture look better. He postioned her eyes so they would bring attention to her face. He didn't put eyebrows in because she either didn't have any to begin with, or he might have just quite simply- forgotten to paint them. He called it after her, and kept it, because he liked it so much. THERE YOU GO. MYSTERY SOLVED. December 14, 2006 - Sadie, Age 13 - Arizona My theory, is quite simple. It is widely known that Leonardo da Vinci often did not finish his pieces. The reason? He was to busy 'doing things' with his models. If you catch my drift. He was accused of this many times, no? So, when someone found out about this, probably an unwealthy servant of the sort, threatened da Vinci he was going to tell his current employer.Da Vinci, knowing the man was unwealthy, had convinced the servant that he would make a portrait of the mans wife, so that he could keep his mouth shut. The wife, of course, being the wife of a poor servant, had very little finery in the clothes department. Thus the reason why her clothes are quite simple. The reasons behind her smile? She was happy she was getting a portrait, which she would have never been able to afford, especially from Leo da Vinci. Why she looks like shes frowning, and other times smiling? Simple. If you are an artist of any sort, you might know, that a project like this would be a great chance to practice new techniques. December 14, 2006 - Cici Weyland, Age 12 - California The Mona Lisa is one of the world's most questioning paintings. Her smile is what has made me wonder the most. i have come to the conclusion that she is in deep thought about what she is looking at or perhaps just smiling becouse she is happy. We all feel like just smiling, because we can, every once in a while. Right? December 7, 2006 - Patti Kamara, Age 11 - North Carolina I sopose that da vinci is a person who dose not finish work he realy didn't give her a meaningful facey look. So there for maby mona is not real finsh and da vinci poupousely didn't finish mona that is what I thik. December 5, 2006 - Daniel Eastwood, Age 13 - Australia i think she knows that she will be loved for ever and is thinking of the millions of people that will see her through the ages and its making her fill special and good in side that is why i think the mona lisa is happy December 5, 2006 - Daniel Eastwood, Age 13 - Australia i think she knows that she will be loved for ever and is thinking of the millions of people that will see her through the ages and its making her fill special and good in side that is why i think the mona lisa is happy November 30, 2006 - Tyson Burden, Age 23 - Texas Why do the majority of you submit theories without taking into consideration the scholarly theories? Educated people, who are experts in their fields, are more likely to be correct. Obviously, from READING THE SCHOLARLY THEORIES, the appropriate conclusion is that there are many things that make this Leonardo's masterpiece. It is a female likeness of himself, there are many mathematical, philosophical, and religious icons that are referenced in the geometry of the Mona Lisa. It must have been quite an undertaking, even for a genius like Da Vinci. November 30, 2006 - Kia Williams, Age 7 - United Kingdom I think it is very clever to paint such a great picture.I think it looks like a photo.Thogh I wonder why they stole that picture. I always wondered why that seems to always seems to be around,and I also think its very clever about the smile. So I only think it is very intresting. November 29, 2006 - Tessa Sydnor, Age 13 - Austria I think Mona Lisa was a wife of an important official. That is why Da Vinci painted her. Maybe Leo wanted us, today, to wonder about Mona's smile, if so, he deffnitaly reached his goal. But personaly, I believe he painted what was there, I think this woman, who ever she was, smiled that way. A kind of sad, bitter little smile. Leo just painted what was there. November 7, 2006 - Rishabh Gandhi, Age 15 - India see ppl i think de dress mona is wearing doenst belong to her- 1) look at de slives dey are so much foolded up its like 2 sizes bigger 2) look at string which has been used to tighten de drees at de bust - it is so tight but guys have u seen de painting lenardo has drawn water fall and a errputing volcano simentaniously on monnas right for her and left for us. why?ans de way monas smile is kinda contarsting ( shes even sad and happy) de image behind her is also. or maybe its showing monas charcter. she is good frm outside but very angry from inside. or maybe she wants to have de kid and her husband doesnt wanna!!!!!! September 28, 2006 - Juan Hernandez - Mexico I think that the painting of monalisa is one of the most polemic pictures around the world. For some resons we unkow why davinci painted it and now many people wonder to know what is behind monalisa´s , I think there is something dark about davinci´s life, in some how he is not only hiding secrets or information about his sexuality but he painted it in a satiric way and most of us just don´t care we keep trying to undestand and imagin a lot of things but we never will know for sure the true of this famous painting mystery September 28, 2006 - Tracy Webber - Florida I believe that the woman was smiling because it has been suggested that she was pregnant at the time Leonardo Da Vinci painted her. Maybe the baby kicked her or moved inside of her, hence the knowing and secret smile of a mother to be and Leonardo caught it on canvas. September 22, 2006 - Derek Bair Mona Lisa is Leonardo Da Vinci's painted daughter with another man, his lover Salai.M O N A L I S A. Rearranged says "Mon Salai" which means "My Salai" in french. Salai's name was used most in all of Leonardo's Journals. There is a painting of Salai that matches up perfectly with the Mona Lisa which helps support my theory. It also would mean the discovery of a new Da Vinci painting since no one knows who painted it. please visit my site www.itsjustlife.com for a summary of my theory for your review! September 14, 2006 - Kimberly Powers, Age 11 - South Carolina When Mona Lisa smiles it looks like she is looking at something that she likes very much and she is injoying it alot. I also think she is thinking about her famly and her life, and it's a good thing!!! September 13, 2006 - Tania, Age 30 - Australia Thanks Rick Wittkop!(see October 30, 2003 below) She sure does grab our attention!! An engima, mystery. I think its the artist Leonardo looking at us, maybee he captured himself, or something. But its not an actual woman. The x-rays show 3 different pictures underneath. Leonardo was a genuis, an inventor, and a clever chap, who was also 'gay', and perhaps this is the Leonardo. Its the eyes that get me. September 10, 2006 - Felicia Van Leur, Age 13 - Canada I might sound like most of the other ppl on this page but i really think that leanardo di vinchi painted hiumself as drag. (Drag might sound rude but it is a more modern term) I also think that ppl should stop anilizing the picture. I know that it is a very beutiful pianting but i really think that ppl should mmove on with there lives. I know that there is a possiblity that there be some "code" in da vinchi's painting the mona lisa but it has been way too long. Ppl have been anilizing this painting for thousands of years and i think it is time to say...... STOP!!! THERE IS NO HIDDEN MEASSAGE IN THE MONA LISA!!! If there was then we would of found it by now!!!! thank you for reading my blurb!! September 9, 2006 - Nicholas Cole, Age 21 - Australia I think that the Da Vinci code is wrong. It's just a story based on fiction. There is no evidence to suggest any of it. I do agree. I think Mona Lisa is a painting of the struggle of man and women through the ages. The horizon does sit off center which suggests that there is an inbalance between the sexes. I highly doubt that it is a self portrait. Where is the evidence that suggests that Da Vinci was a hermaphrodite? I think the movie has got lots of people believing in the code. Leonardo da Vinci was an amazing guy. But let's get one thing straight, there was no code. There are no concrete links to any of it. The Mona Lisa is art and just that. Art. September 6, 2006 - James King, Age 14 - Australia I belive the Mona lisa is smiling because she knows a secret, like a controversial secret that if known would change eveything we know today about Da vinci. For example maybe Mona and Leo were close friends or even were in a relationship. Leo painted her cos he wanted to. August 11, 2006 - Mona Lisa, Age 524 Earth years - Ghfdsaj Jfasdj Greetings. All thy guesses are good, but all thy guesses are wrong. I am an alien. I came down from Pluto 500 years ago to study the Earth. My king asked me to come down. I fell in love with Leonardo Da Vinci while I was in a place called Italy. I asked him to draw me so he would always remember me. I asked him to put an Earth background on one half, and a Pluto background on the other. That is why there is 2 different backgrounds. People ask why I have no eyebrows. Well, people from Pluto have no hair at all. Leonardo asked me to wear a wig so I suffered for him and wore one. People wonder why I am smiling. I am smiling because I am looking at the man that I love. Some other people ask whether I am a man or a woman. I am neither. I am an alien. I hope this answers your questions. If not, ask Leonardo Da Vinci himself. If he's still alive. July 7, 2006 - Georgina Hayes, Age 12 - Sydney, Australia Well, isnt it obvious? Mona lisa was leonardo de vinci's secret lover! She cared for him when he was old but she died a terrible death at the ge of 41. Her dying wish was that leonardo would paint a portrait of her. And so he did. She is smiling s she is looking down from heaven and she LOVES how her portrat looks!!! June 25, 2006 - Don Berkley - New York I believe that mona liza had an atraction to devinci i think the smile is from a complementry remark he made to her, the look and the smile shows me there was something very secretive about them. June 24, 2006 - Carly Tucci, Age 12 - California I think Mona Lisa does not want anyone to know she had bad teeth and didn't brush them. June 23, 2006 - Emily, Age 13 - England Look u idiots. Da Vinci got Mona Lisa pregnant and then he painted her portrait because he wanted 2. She is smiling because she is looking at the man that got her pregnant and she is hiding her stomach. June 22, 2006 - Ashok Rajagopalan, Age 42 - India Forget all the theories so far! Forget the 'DaVinci Code.' Now, approach the question with some logic and guessability. 'Mona' is short for 'Madonna.' This is a portrait of the Virgin Mary. Why do I think so? 1. The pose and manner of depiction is usually for a divine figure. She's a Madonna without a child. 2. Where's he child? He is inside her, so the theory that she's pregnant tallies with mine. 3. In the 'Last Supper,' Leo places Jesus exactly in front of the setting sun, to give him a natural halo. He's done the same here. She smiles, because she bears the lord inside her. She is both proud and humble. She feels blessed and will bless you; that's what the smile says. June 22, 2006 - Tom F, Age 13 - Unknown Lots of people have been saying things about mona lisa's eyebrows like: "Leonardo just thought it was better to have no eyebrows". People! that is wrong! It is a fact that the mona lisa did have eyebrows, they were accidently removed during a restoration. Also all the people that say stuff about the priory of sion is from a book! There is no evidence at all he was even in it! June 21, 2006 - Mona Jona, Age 17 - Norway I think that the (alleged) fact that Mona Lisa is both male and female is the one big "prank" Da Vinci played on us as he painted her, and therefore the reason for her smile. As you may notice in the back of the painting, the landscape is quite different on both sides. On the left side, the ground is fertile and green (woman), as opposed to the right side which is dark and barren looking (man). One can also see that one the right side, the horizontal line is higher than on the left, which might imply man's domination over women back then. Though being a "feminist", Da Vinci might still have meant to descreetly point out the difference between the sexes. Anyways, with those two different (and symbolic) landscapes on either side, Mona Lisa is the link connecting them, therefore being a mix of both male and female. June 19, 2006 - Carly Tucci, Age 12 - California I think Mona Lisa is a best friend who knew Leonardo Da Vinci and she had a secret about her liking Leonardo Da Vinci and didn't want to tell anyone else or Leonardo Da Vinci. June 19, 2006 - Colleen Robertson, Age 12 - Kentucky I believe that Mona Lisa is merely a feminised version of the brillant da Vinci. Because of his homosexuality, this makes sense. The famous Dan Brown novel talks about the pagan side of the story, and you can tell how some of it is true, that the left side of her face is painted slightly different than the right. Her smile is the most popular aspect about her and I think her smile is meant to invoke higher popularity giving people something to try to understand. Da Vinci was intelligent to know that everyone would be curious as to why she is smiling. My idea about her smile is that da Vinci painted it to say he knew something everyonce else didn't, and that thing was that the smile is nothing more than a prank puzzle for the masses. The Mona Lisa is a priceless painting made to reflect da Vinci's brillance and love of the femine side of life. June 17, 2006 - Jasmine Khoo, Age 16 - Perlis, Malaysia Mona Lisa will always be a mistery.No matter it is Leonardo Da Vinci himself or his dead mother,there are possibilities of it.But for now,the theory of Leornado Da Vinci seems to be the closest.To see is to believe.So I'll say I believe thet he drawn himself as a woman to show his thought about woman and man have the same stand. June 16, 2006 - Donald Hardy, Age 59 - Estill Springs, Tennessee Mona Lisa By Da Vinci Mona Lisa also spells out I AM SALON. Da Vinci as an inventor surely would have dwelled on the origin of man and his maker. His maker has a name of I AM and he would have thought about this body as the temple of I AM and associated it with an art gallery or living quarters for the maker. A means to operate the I AM machine would be to use this name of his maker in speech and whatever is used to describe I AM would manifest itself in the world. If you say "I AM starving to death", then drought would come and cause crop failure, etc. The expression of Mona Lisa is simply saying I am within as Mother Earth. His way of saying, I am Da Vinci an I am machine. Who is Da Vinci? He answers "I am". Salon: 1. an elegant apartment or living room (as in a fashionable home) 2. a fashionable assemblage of notables (as literary figures, artists, or statesmen) held by custom at the home of a prominent person 3. a hall for exhibition of art b capitalized : an annual exhibition of works of art. I am Don Hardy June 15, 2006 - Karye Douglas, Age 13 - California some people may ask why does monalisa smile? or what does the theories mean? I may have that answer. Im am so positive about my info i picked up. Well", the reason why monalisa is smiles is because when Leonardo De Vinci drew her some theories say that it's because she was happy". But if you look at the bigger picture and look vary closely you can see that she's not realy smilling. She has a little frown on her face,but looks like a smile. Why is she frowning", we may never know. June 14, 2006 - Mona Lisa, Age Dead - Italy Hello my fellow Itallians. . . i would just like to say. . . i love you. June 12, 2006 - Lisa Wang, Age 43 - Folsom, California Mona Lisa _the daughter of Jejus Christ and Mary Madeline. I believe that Davinci painted himself without any model. He knows that Jejus and Madeline had a chind or he believed that they had a child. So he created the painting . if you compare Jejus and Mary Madeline's face . you can see How much Mona lisa looks like Mary madeline except that Mona lisa has abroad forhead which comes from Jejus. She smiles because she is the secret of the world history. June 6, 2006 - Susan Shust, Age 26 - British Columbia, Canada I believe that the woman in the painting is smiling because that's how da Vinci wanted her dipicted. It's the same for any picture or anything...you say "Smile for the Camera" in this case, it's smile for the artist...simple. June 1, 2006 - Liza Padilla, Age 31 - Paterson, New Jersey I beleive the Mona Lisa is smilling b-cause she is thinking,I got all these people wondering who I am what I am and did I (MonaLisa)ever really exsit,the biggest prank ever,and till today it is still going. May 31, 2006 - Caroline Snyder, Age 18 - Thomas, West Virginia Art is a representation of self expression; however, I do not believe this is da Vinci himself. I believe this is a portrait of a woman, perhaps intrigued with his art capability, and wanted her portrait to be created by him. The use of self expression in this painting is being used in the background where his interpretation of nature is prevalent. The Mona Lisa is extraordinary and captivating. May 28, 2006 - Tay Bradley, Age Unknown - Ontario, Canada Maybe Mona Lisa is actually Mary Magdellen, we all know Davinci was trying to get across a message, so maybe he painted her, when she was pregnant with the daughter or son of Jesus. May 28, 2006 - Sarah P, Age Unknown - Ontario, Canada The Mona Lisa is brilliant. Da Vinci did a wonderfull job, a picture which would cause this much discussion, research, debate, does exactly what art should do, evoke wonder and feeling. Maybe he made it this way on purpose! May 28, 2006 - James, Age 19 - Michigan We all know that "The Da Vinci Code" is a fictional novel. However, the only things that are fictional in the novel are that of the plot and storyline. If you read the very first page of the novel it notes that "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate." So, not everthing in this novel is purley ficion. Dan Brown doesn not simply create Mythological theories and ancient gods for his book, but rather states facts about them. I believe in his theorie about why Mona Lisa is smiling. She is hiding a secret, and the secret is that she is neither a man nor a woman. Take a good look at a picture of the Mona Lisa, the left horizon is considerably lower than the right. By doing this, Mona Lisa's left side appears larger than her right. In history, the left side is considered female and the right male. And by making her appear larger from the left, Da Vinci is stressing her to be more feminine. The Egyptian god name Amon, is the god of masculine fertility. Amon's counterpart was Isis, whose ancient pictogram was once called L'ISA. AMON L'ISA An anagram for Mona Lisa. Man AND Woman. (All information is take from Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code"...so i am NOT discrediting him!) May 28, 2006 - J. Antonio Farfan, Age 38 - Houston, Texas The model(s) used to paint the Mona Lisa, could have in fact been many. Lisa de Ghirardini included. However, the representation of the sitter is actually a little known prophet and military leader by the name of Deborah. Why? The right hand has a very clear Roman numeral seven. The hand underneath has two Roman numerals. And those are the number four and five. Since the right hand is on top, the number seven supersedes the other numbers. Therefore it is the main number. The book of Judges in the Bible is the seventh book of the Old Testament. Once there, you go to chapter four and it tells the story of a powerful woman named Deborah! If that isn't enough just read chapter five. That not only is the same story in song, but reiterates that Deborah ruled under a palm tree, in addition to describing the winding roads in the background of the Mona Lisa. Coincidence? Read on. The word for palm in italian is the same as the word for palm in a tree. Leonardo used the word to interchange with itself. Furthermore, the sleeves themselves have many characters, the most relevent is the mirrored K. The mirrored K is the Phoenician symbol for PALM OF HAND. And there's more, tons more. For that you'll have t! Deborah, the prophetess, military leader and judge in the seventh book of the Old Testament is the Mona Lisa. Game Over. May 16, 2006 - Charleen Moore, Age Unknown - Evansville, Indiana I think the Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci’s interpretation of Mary Magdalene. May 12, 2006 - Joseph Cross, Age Unknown - Tucson, Arizona No theory! Factually, da Vinci could capture images in paint that stoked the emotional fires of the masses that view the Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa has the charisma of a movie star, which da Vinci captured! May 10, 2006 - A.J. Romero, Age 11 - Cupertino, California I think that Leanardo Davinci is trying to taunt us. This man was a prodigy and we will probally never find the code if there is one. April 14, 2006 - Theo Kinstis, Age 26 - Sydney, Australia Im not really into art,and had never been to a musuem before, but last year i went to the Louvre in Paris and saw the Mona lisa there. The following day i had a dream that Mona Lisa was a common school teacher that Leonardo had met through his educational involvements.Leonardo found her interesting enough to paint a picture of her and invited her to his quarters on a regular basis. Her smile represents a nervous one , yet happy for being in a mans home that she knew little about. The painting has no sexual reference between Leonardo and Mona Lisa. This lady never married. This is just the vision i had. Dont know if it means anything to anyone, but i dont know much about art. April 14, 2006 - Jacqueline Vance, Age 25 - Unknown I think mona lisa is smiling because she is getting her portrate done, maybe she looks so much like da vinci because she's his sister. maybe she's his mother. I dont believe she is both man and woman as I have heard before, where is the beard and then why the breasts, she is a relative . I think if anyone digs deap enough and analizes things to far you will assume things fit, although I personally believe she is his favorite relative, possibly his mother young. April 13, 2006 - Natalie Sagriff, Age 15 - Ontario, Canada One of lifes greatest mysteries... Mona Lisa. What if we are all overlooking how simple the answer could be... what if Leonardo da Vinci had seen her on the street or was a woman of his imagination. Perhaps she's not the secret at all... maybe shes the one hiding the secret. But like all mysteries, such as how the pyramid was made, or what and why the stonehedge is where it is... we will never know... and like da Vinci did himself, we have only our imagination to answer these mysteries for us. April 13, 2006 - Jenni Newbury, Age Unknown - Washington I believe that The Mona Lisa is smiling! She appears to be looking over my right shoulder no matter what angle I look at her from. I think she smiles at an Angel or spirit that sits/stands to the right and behind each of us, our Spirit guide maybe. I believe her smile is mysterious on purpose because we don't know the secret that she knows, about the other side. She does look content, wise, and at peace. April 13, 2006 - Sara, Age 19 - Melbourne, Australia I just finished the book 'Painting Mona Lisa'. While it is similar to the Da Vinci Code, it contains facts, but is mostly fiction... it presents a great theory. Da Vinci is her father and is painting her for her real husband, Guiliano de Medici. April 8, 2006 - Puzzled in New York, Age 51 - Lake Grove, New York I cannot believe one picture can create so much attention. What is the first question a photographer asks when he takes your picture? Smile!! Maybe Mona Lisa is smiling, smirking, whatever you want to call it, simply because DaVinci asked her to. April 6, 2006 - Kaitlyn Nicholson, Age 10 - New Lexington, Ohio I think she is thinking , "Hurry it up already Leo" March 30, 2006 - Venni Karu, Age 13 - Australia People just can't stop talking about that Mona Lisa. Why is she smiling? What's her story? Some people think her mysterious grin meant she was secretly pregnant, but that would be unlikely in conjunction with another theory: that Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait of Leonardo! X-rays of the painting and close comparison with drawings of Leonardo suggest that this may actually be true. March 29, 2006 - Krystina Bowling B, Age Unknown - Unknown I think that the Mona Lisa is Leonardo's dream lover. Some people say that he was gay, i just think he was lonely. Maybe in his world instead of waiting for his dream girl to come along he would create her to his liking. March 28, 2006 - Shana B, Age 14 - Higdon, Alabama Maybe de Vinci wanted to paint this picture so that we could wonder about it or maybe he just wanted to paint a beautiful picture.I don't know and no one does.No one ever will unless they invent a time machine & that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.So when you look at the Mona Lisa let your imagination soar.People see things differently.That's the BEAUTY of it all. March 26, 2006 - Sani Shamlan, Age 43 - Salangor, Malaysia think it was a fluke*. I mean the smile-effect. It was a fluke. Let's say that Da Vinci really wanted to do a feminine self-portrait of himself and he tried his best to amalgamate his own male features into what is targeted to be a portrait of a smooth, feminine, pretty and nubile smiling young woman. If so, then it must have been challenging for him. And the result is what many now regard as an ingeniuous effect. Many great inventions were flukes. Vulcanised rubber, penicillin, X-ray imaging, all flukes. *Fluke: A stroke of good luck. A chance occurrence; an accident. March 25, 2006 - Kee Chia Ming, Age 16 - Malacca, Malaysia Mona Lisa who is a famous woman long time ago keep smile because i believe that she had a wonderful time when the paint was painted. She keep on smiling because she wanted to express her emotion to the world. March 25, 2006 - Jacob Coleman, Age 17 - Unknown I think The Mona Lisa is supposed to be Da Vinci's mother. He incorperated aspects of himself into the picture to make it as like her as possible. I think this would explain why he carried it around with him everywhere. I also think she's pregnant with Leonardo and is smiling with love for her unborn child. Why he called it Mona Lisa, however, is another question. March 21, 2006 - Randy Boss, Age 30 - Texas I believe The Mona Lisa is simply Leonardo picturing himself as a woman. I mean we all know now how he felt about evolution and the world, so he might of asked himself one day how would I look as a woman. His point could of been clearly for himself in filling his thought with the way he would look as a woman. He could have been secretly gay. March 20, 2006 - Anya Dai, Age 13 - British Columbia, Canada I think Mona Lisa is smiling because she is pregnant. March 15, 2006 - Grace J. - Unknown YOU ALL NEED TO PUT DOWN YOU'RE COPY OF "THE DA VINCI CODE". IT IS A FICTIONAL STORY AND IS NOT COMPLETELY BASED ON REAL FACTS. THE REASON AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MONA LISA PAINTING WILL FOREVER BE A MYSTERY. March 10, 2006 - Dan Civi, Age 27 - Alberta, Canada We all know what intelligent man da vinci was, so get this... the Mona Lisa what created in the image of himself of course we all know this, but what history tells us is that, da vinci was the "grand master" of priory of sion, who reportly hold the secret to the holy grail,keeping this in mind i believe the picture of the mona lisa is just that a picture of the holy grail( Mary Magadalene) with the face sturcture of da vinci himself, if it's true that the priory of sion hold the secret, then da vinci no doubt would have felt more than justified to incorporated himself with her since he was at the time her protecter. furthermore if you look at the Mona Lisa, look closer to where her dress meet her skin, over top of her clevage, there are rings ( you have to look close) if you count them there are 11 for the apostles with the 12 being the subject of the picture( Mary Magadalene)? March 9, 2006 - Chelsea, Age 14 - Florence, Kentucky I think that everyone is getting too into the Mona Lisa, its a wonderful piece of artwork, but i dont think that there is another painting behind it. I think that he was starting a landscape and got half way done and started to paint her in it, because if you look at it closer, in the middle it cuts from a landscape to dark colors. March 8, 2006 - Aimee Sigleer, Age 17 - Woodburn, Oregon My theory about the Mona Lisa is that she was not a mother figure, not his lover, not his wife, not him as a girl but maybe a woman he adored, met on the street, found interesting and wanted to capture her to share her with the world because she was so special as a person. March 6, 2006 - Ed Gless, Age 74 - Clearwater, Florida Every artist has the right to interpert Mona Lisa in his or her own way. February 28, 2006 - Mohammad Said - Palestine I belive that the mona lisa is leonardo's dead mother and he just simply wants to bring back a memeory of her. Or he just imagined a mother that he might have never had. February 28, 2006 - Ameen Greepaly, Age 23 - Manama, Bahrain People , people , Hasn't anyone thought that maybe just maybe he had a sister /half sister someone from within the family whom he might have never seen before or for a long time and met her some where during his travels and decided to do a partrait of her to keep himself.And as for the smile they were happy to see each other and she was just trying to contain herself or maybe even if you are going to say thats wrong or impossible then it could be that he wanted to know what his sister / half sister would look like if he had one. February 20, 2006 - Stuart Tosney, Age 18 - Milton Keynes, England I feel the Mona Lisa is in fact a portrait of Da Vinci himself. After reading a certain text i feel he had strong views on the equality between men and women. In the last supper painting, there is a woman sat on the right side of Jesus, suspected to be his wife/girlfriend Mary. He belived woman had there place among men and wanted to show this by merging the two sexes, using himself as a model. The picture contains both female and male features supporting this theory. As for the smile, could it not be the great artist having a laugh as the world gazes upon his prank? February 20, 2006 - Leonardo Da Vinci, Age: Dead - Florence, Italy All you stupid people Mona Lisa is me, Leonardo! I just decided to have fun and paint myself as a woman so naturally I was smiling (who wouldn't)!Now quit guessing and accept the truth you idiots Mona Lisa is Leonardo Da Vinci. February 15, 2006 - Kiki Ostberg, Age 9 - Wheaton, Illinois I'd like to tell you that Mona Lisa is really a picture of a merchants wife. And legend has it that when painting Mona Lisa, Di Vinci had a band/orcestra play music for him to keep him calm, and make his paintings good. If the legands true, then thats why Mona Lisa is the best painting Di Vincie painted. If not, there are many more questions to be reaveld. But, it also may be his best painting because right before he painted Mona Lisa he met up with Michelangelo, who gave him a few painting, and sculpting tips. I hope this was enough information for you, because, I found this all on Google. All you do is type in all of Di Vinci name. Has this Website gone crazy? February 13, 2006 - Kristian Hernandez, Age 17 - Dallas, Texas I believe that the secret behind the Mona Lisa is simple: it's a prank. Leonardo Da Vinci was well-known for his pranks (including his insert of "Mary Magdalene" in the Last Supper and the Shroud that is supposedly depicting Jesus). I believe that this painting, originally intended to be a portrait of a wealthy man's wife, turned out being a self-portrait, as well as the facial features dominant in many of Leonardo's works, including the Last Supper and other Self-Portraits. I think the smile is a sign of Leonardo's satisfaction at his own cleverness. January 7, 2006 - Kenneth Moskowitz, Age 77 - Coconut Creek, Florida She is smiling at herself for being stupid enough to let someone draw her picture without royalties. She now knows more than the guys looking at her. January 7, 2006 - Carol Knapp, Age 50 - Ashland, Oregon After reviewing several paintings of the Last Supper, I see similarities between the woman sitting next to Jesus and the womans face used in the Mona Lisa. Could it be a relative of the woman in the Last Supper? December 16, 2005 - Sandy Singh, Age 30 - Jamaica, New York think that the Mona Lisa is not the portrait of a rich man’s wife as it was customary during Divinci’s era for rich husbands to have portraits of their wives. I do not see any jewelry on the Mona Lisa to indicate that she was a woman of wealth and her clothing indicates that she was just a simple woman. I think that she could have been the portrait of Divinci’s lover or his girlfriend. Since Divinci drew the portrait, I would have to say that she was looking at Divinci lustfully while he was painting her portrait with that semi smile with her cleavage showing which was not customary during the Renaissance period. She does not look like a very happy woman from the expression on her face though she does not look sad. However the look on her face to me indicates that she was not extremely happy with the man that she was with and that maybe she did not trust him or was jealous of him that’s why she had to let her cleavage show to sway his looks from other women to him. However,her look does show a deep love for someone, maybe for Divinci, the artist. December 16, 2005 - Oki Blatnik, Age 25 - Velenje, Slovenia I know that smile:) My father is looking and smiling like this when he drinks a beer too much. That is why my theory is that she was drunk when she was smiling! December 16, 2005 - Pheng Wee Chia, Age 32 - Selangor, Malaysia I don't think Mona Lisa was Happy. That's utter nonsense. She sat for Leonardo for 3 years...how could she be happy all of the time. Why can't it be it's just her normal facial feature. Like the dolphin..Would you say they are happy all the time..Even if chased by a killer whale, would a dolphin smile...NO..but it looks like they are smiling isn't it. Cause it's just their normal facial feature. God just made Mona Lisa with a smiley face. I would know, cause my wife is like that. Sometimes, she seem to have a little smile on her face when she is not talking or doing some facial expression. She wouldn't be happy..but basically contented and at peace and her normal facial feature just shows that she is smiling. The corner of the mouth just happen to bend up a little. So there it is, my guess it's just her normal facial feature. December 15, 2005 - Eric V., Age 14 - Wisconsin My theory about Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, the Mona Lisa is not about wether if it is a man or a woman or happy or sad. Leonardo knew that mankind would spend lots of time and money on trying to come to a conclusion. He did this because he knew that people are so stubborn sometimes and will do anything to get an answer. All in all i think that it is just a painting that people will and should admire for years to come. December 5, 2005 - Jake Lavender, Age 9 - Unknown I think Mona Lisa is hiding something through her smile. I think she smiles so she's not like a picture that you just look at and say I like that and forget about it later. I think Leanardo da vinci wanted peaple to remeber and have theories about his painting. December 5, 2005 - Kelli Bearden, Age 28 - Ingleside, Texas Because he was raised by his father. He painted the Mona Lisa as a fictional mothers figure that he never had. The Smile is a mothers loving grin of approval that he always long for as a child. November 29, 2005 - Sophie H., Age 13 - Esperance, Western Australia Mona Lisa Is smiling that mysterious smile because Da Vinci decided to do a portrait of her. Mona Lisa is not beautiful, but she isn't ugly-she's an average looking person who is happy with how she looks and is giving a smile because she is proving to the world that you don't have to be beautiful to get somewhere in life. I don't think that she is pregnant because as some of you said "Mona Lisa is a cross between a man and a woman" it's not like a a 'shim' (cross between a male and a female) can get pregnant. Although she does look like she has a belly....but maybe she's just large!!- but who knows maybe the Mona Lisa is a character of Da Vinci's imagination, maybe its a cross between a male and a female or maybe its he's lover....who knows. All we can do is admire this great piece of art that somehow amazes everyone that see's it. November 29, 2005 - Walter Stevenson, Age 17 - Allendale, South Carolina When it comes to the mona lisa, Leonardo did use a model, (i should know- I am Leonardo) but decided to secretly make another version, which is the version whom you all seem to like. There are 3 layers on the mona lisa, the first one is the copy of the original. He'd made two versions. This one, after using the model decided to experiment. So Leo' drew a portrait of himself and placed it behind the original to make up what would become him as a lady, with a few enhancements along the way. Just like i do with my drawings today. and the smile? Can't anybody smile in portraits anymore? No, I had showed Miss Lisa The Painting and she didnt like the fact she wasnt smiling. So i added some shadown around her lips to give off the impression that she was and at the same wasn't smiling. November 28, 2005 - ShinTu Rama, Age 17 - Allendale, South Carolina Leonardo Davici was a gay man who had wanted to see what he looked like as a woman. Of course, there were things he wanted to change. There is probably a drawing behind the Mona Lisa that Leonardo used to make a similar face of himself so he could get a potrait of what He was going to look like. The smile is a sign of happiness that means Leonardo is happy with what he looks like as a woman. And The Eyebrows? Maybe if he left them off, the picture would look more feminine and no one would suspect anything. October 16, 2005 - Wesley Basson, Age 18 - Cocoa, Florida Mona Lisa was a courtier who was very good friends with a baroness in France. Through this French noblewoman, Mona Lisa was introduced to Leonardo. September 5, 2005 - Tim Goebel, Age 50 - Canyon Country, California Pasta consists of complex carbohydrates that are quite hard to digest. As a native of Italy, Mona most likely consumed large quantities of pasta. I believe she had a lot of gas and tried to hold it in, thereby causing her to appear as if she was smiling. In reality she was simply bearing down. August 24, 2005 - Stephanie C., Age 16 - Cleveland, Ohio Mona Lisa is NOT a picture of Leonardo's wife, girlfriend, or lover. Leonardo was a homosexual who was in love with Salai, his young male apprentice. August 21, 2005 - Laura Weathers, Age 15 - Lake Linden, Michigan Mona Lisa is a man! Mona has shadows around her lips and chin where a beard may have existed. She has a flat chest and masculine hands. She's so manly that I call her Mano Lisa! July 31, 2005 - Derek Kraw, Age 29 - Edmonton, Canada Mona Lisa is the key to discovering the rich treasures of The Knights Templar: "...the red river of the Templars originates from an underground cave, which flows into the body of Mona." July 25, 2005 - R.D., Age 12 - Sydney, Australia When examined with an x-ray, historians found 3 drafts under the final finished Mona Lisa. The first version apparently had a beard. July 20, 2005 - Jordan Perez, Age 9 - Bakersfield, California Mona Lisa is smiling because she secretly knew that one day she would be queen of the world! July 11, 2005 - Ace Alcala, Age 20 - Manila, Philippines Leonardo never found a model for Mona Lisa. Da Vinci shaved his eyebrows, donned a wig, and drew himself as a woman. July 11, 2005 - Nishtha Pandey, Age 17 - Gujarat, India Mona Lisa is not a portrait, but rather a product of Leonardo's fantastic imagination. Da Vinci managed to blend together both the male and the female in his painting. July 7, 2005 - Doug Marsden, Age 78 - Leeds, United Kingdom The British Post produced a booklet of ten "Smiles Greetings" stamps. The edition featured images of Stan Laurel, Cheshire Cat, Mona Lisa, Man in the Moon, et al. Each of the featured images included the credits for the artists, except for the Mona Lisa smile stamp! Leonardo is the only artist whose name does not appear in the stamp booklet! Is this a case of the painting being more important than the artist? My interest in La Gioconda began some 70 years ago as a small boy. A highlight of my early years was a visit to see Mona at The Louvre. I was quite enchanted by Mona, much more so than Venus de Milo or any of Poussin's works. My collection of Mona misusages now extends to well over 150 press clippings. Most are amazingly naff, a few quite clever, and a lot unforgiveable (i.e., "It's our prices that made her smile!"). Since she's out of copyright, she's fair game for anyone too thick to use normal advertising techniques to sell their products. July 3, 2005 - John Abraham, Age 28 - Bombay, India Let's not make a big fuss over why Mona Lisa is smiling! If she were alive today, I bet she'd kick all her critics! July 2, 2005 - Gabriella Miles, Age 7 - Nottingham, United Kingdom I love Mona and your site has helped me learn a lot about her! July 1, 2005 - Molly B. , Age 13 - Lancaster, South Carolina Mona had braces and was too embarassed to show her teeth. I can imagine Mona's father exclaiming, "Mona, after all the money we spent on your braces, that's the smile we get?" June 29, 2005 - Paul Grant , Age 18 - Bangor, Northern Ireland Mona is smiling because she's secretly not wearing any under garments. June 28, 2005 - Sunday Akinyele , Age 32 - Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria I love Mona Lisa! June 20, 2005 - Korie Marshall, Age 32 - Nova Scotia, Canada The Mona Lisa is Leonardo's representation of life and the universe, not of a particular person. It is both feminine and masculine, dark and light, yin and yang. June 12, 2005 - Kate Thackery, Age 12 - London, United Kingdom Mona Lisa and Leonardo are the same person. Mona is smiling because Da Vinci found it amusing or fun to dress as a girl. June 8, 2005 - Zsolt Kocsis, Age 14 - Sudbury, Ontario, Canada Mona is smiling simply because a smile is more influential than no expression at all. June 7, 2005 - Jennica Lam, Age 12 - Victoria, BC, Canada Mona Lisa is actually a painting of Leonardo. He probably looked in a mirror and said, "Oh, I could look like a lady if I had long hair and a lady-like smile!" June 6, 2005 - Justine Govereau, Age 14 - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Mona Lisa is actually Leonardo. People used to get killed for cross dressing and this was his way of expressing himself without suffering any consequences. June 2, 2005 - Kelly Minne, Age 13 - Port Elizabeth, South Africa Mona Lisa is actually a self portrait by Leonardo. Her hands are a bit too big to belong to a woman of her size. May 31, 2005 - Heather Scott, Age 15 - Melbourne, Australia I find it very sad that when the Mona Lisa is restored, little parts of her do not return. Now that the eyebrows are painted over, we have no record of what they originally looked like. May 25, 2005 - Madowa Genovia, Age 112 - Tamaulipas, Mexico When Mona's eyes close it shall signal the end of the world. May 05, 2005 - Leonie Doorduin, Age 34 - Utrecht, Netherlands Mona Lisa's smile certainly makes us curious about her. Smiling is a very good way to make people talk about you without doing too much. I hope we never find out the real reason why she is smiling! April 28, 2005 - Adrianna Derbyshire, Age 16 - Ontario, Canada Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo to illustrate a secret passed on to him while he was head master of the Priory of Scion. There is no way to figure out the secret message for sure, however we can make some assumptions. April 28, 2005 - Ja'shaun Clark, Age 11 - Dayton, Ohio Mona was Da Vinci's wife and he painted her portrait. While Leonardo was painting her wife's picture, she tragically died. Da Vinci used his memories of his wife to finish the portrait. This is why it took so long for the painting to be finished. April 26, 2005 - Lacey Beckham, Age 22 - Lancaster, South Carolina Mona Lisa smiles because she has the right to smile. She smiles because that's what you do if you want a beautiful portrait. She smiles because she is rich with inner beauty. She smiles because she is a lady. She smiles because she is proud and happy in life. April 26, 2005 - Kirsten, Age 19 - Melbourne, Australia It makes sense that Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of Leonardo as a woman. If you examine Da Vinci's notebooks, there are no records of a model being used in the making of Mona Lisa. If you compare the cheekbones, nose, and hairline of Mona and Leonardo, you'll find the similarities to be extraordinary. April 25, 2005 - Sarah Toomey, Age 12 - Dublin, Ireland Mona is smiling because she is expecting a baby. You can tell because her fingers are slightly swollen and she is covering her belly with her arms. April 04, 2005 - Sobia Siddiqui, Age 13 - Sugarland, Texas Mona and Leonardo were young lovers. Da Vinci was overcome by Mona's beauty and asked if he could paint her portrait. Mona agreed reluctantly because she lacked confidence about her appearance and was unsure why Leonardo wanted to paint her picture. She tried not to be nervous, but while Leonardo painted her portrait, Mona was unable to keep from smiling and blushing. April 04, 2005 - Carla Lakes, Age 48 - Algeria, Canada I think that Leonardo secretly loved Mona Lisa, which is why he was constantly perfecting the painting. April 01, 2005 - Francois Techene, Age 26 - Tarragona, Spain Da Vinci used a model to paint Mona Lisa. He observed the model's smile for hours, perhaps days. Mona's eyes, mouth, and expression are too feminine to be, as many people say, a man or Da Vinci himself. April 01, 2005 - Ishan Almazi, Age 14 - Sydney, Australia Mona was smiling because that is what most people do when they are having their picture painted. March 28, 2005 - Anna Nishida, Age 36 - Kanagawa-ken, Japan I have never considered Mona Lisa to be a woman, she looks too manly. She represents the yin and yang of life, the balance between two polar opposites. She is half woman and half man, both good and evil. Whether she is a myth or was an actual person, she seems to represent the whole of humanity. February 01, 2005 - Reba Macintosh, Age 9 - Toms River, New Jersey Mona Lisa is a religious person. Maybe she is Jewish, German, or French. February 01, 2005 - K. Hansson, Age 18 - Gothenburg, Sweden Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of Da Vinci as a woman. She is smiling because Leonardo likes the idea of being a woman. The painting captures a moment in Da Vinci's life where he is truly being himself. January 30, 2005 - Chris Fielding, Age 27 - Cheshire, United Kingdom Mona Lisa is smiling because she has a wicked sense of humour! January 28, 2005 - J. Bourke, Age 18 - Sunshine Beach, Australia Da Vinci was a member of a secret sect known as the Priory of Sion. This underground cult worshipped goddesses and all things female. It is easy to see why he would paint himself as the Mona Lisa, which is the speculation of many critics, writers, historians, and fans. January 25, 2005 - John De Melo, Age 12 - Devonshire, Bermuda Leonardo was a homosexual. The Mona Lisa is a self-portrait of Da Vinci as a woman. January 23, 2005 - Glen Rogers, Age 14 - Dublin, Ireland The Mona Lisa does indeed bear remarkable resemblance to Leonardo, hence the recent theories that Mona Lisa is actually Da Vinci in drag. He was openly homosexual, so it seems plausible. He was also a practical joker who enjoyed knowing more than everyone else around him. The semi-omniscient smile of Mona Lisa is an indication of this. I believe that her smile acts as a diversion or decoy. The painting has a hidden message. When we look beyond the paint and her smile, we are able to see this hidden message. January 22, 2005 - Matthew Campbell, Age 25 - Sydney, Australia Mona Lisa was involved in an affair with Leonardo for quite some time. Just before the initial sketch, Leonardo and Mona were intimate during a picnic in the hills. Mona's smile is hiding her guilt from the pleasure she experienced in the mountains with Leonardo. January 19, 2005 - Nikhil Jain, Age 22 - Mumbai, India I do not understand why there is so much attention paid to Mona Lisa's smile. When a painter starts a new portrait, she/he has barely 5 to 6 facial expressions to choose from. The probability of Da Vinci choosing a smiling face for Mona was basically one in six. January 13, 2005 - Jeszen Gestro, Age 27 - Lima, Peru Creo que Mona Lisa esta sonriendo porque no esta muy de acuerdo a su retrato, y desea no estar ahi! January 12, 2005 - Jackie O'Connell, Age 18 - Northampton, Penn. I think Leonardo actually painted Saint Anne, but decided to title the painting Mona Lisa. January 11, 2005 - Charles Montgomery, Age 24 - Location Unknown I believe the background in Mona Lisa represents heaven and hell, with hell on the left side and heaven on the right. October 23, 2004 - Greg Thomas, Age 18 - Wigan, United Kingdom Mona Lisa derives her name from one Egyptian God, Amon, and one Egyptian Godess, Isis. Amon is the Egyptian God of all things male and Isis is the Egyptian Goddess of all things female. Over time, the name Isis changed into L'isa. Today L'isa is known as Lisa. The name suggests that Mona Lisa is in fact male, which is not surprising as Da Vinci was known as a practical joker. October 19, 2004 - Samantha Bay, Age 16 - Augusta, Kentucky Leonardo was looking for the perfect wife for himself. He wanted someone so much like himself, he painted a self portrait in female form. He was able to know what to look for in a woman after he finished the painting. October 14, 2004 - Lorraine Joore, Age 13 - Netherlands Leonardo felt like he was alone, so he decided to paint a picture of the woman of his dreams. It looks like Mona was talking to another person, but suddenly noticed Leonardo. You can see that she is interested in him, but you cannot really see what's going on in her mind. Leonardo wanted to paint the mystery of love. Mona Lisa looks like Leonardo because he could not find the woman of his dreams to pose. To make the painting look real, he first painted his own face. Afterwards, he covered his portrait with the face of a woman. October 9, 2004 - Paul San Pasqual, Age 23 - Makati, Philippines Mona Lisa was smiling for Leonardo Da Vinci, who was able to be himself around her and disclose his secret of being a homosexual. September 30, 2004 - Michael Nielsen, Age 26 - Copenhagen, Denmark Mona Lisa is actually a self portrait by Da Vinci. This idea corresponds well with the balance between male and female found in pagan religions, as well as Leonardo's involvement in the Priory of Sion. Considering Da Vinci's enigmatic nature, the idea of Mona Lisa as a self portrait makes a lot of sense. September 24, 2004 - Dean Schmidt, Age 28 - Perth, Australia The name Mona Lisa is very similar to that of Magdelina (Mary Magdaline). Leonardo painted himself into his work The Last Supper where he appears as the second to last member on the right. His appearance in this painting may explain why he may have transposed himself within the Mona Lisa. If Magdelina carried the child of Christ and Da Vinci was part of Jesus' secret sect, then he would have painted her flawlessly as if she was the mother of Jesus's decendants. September 19, 2004 - Karolyn Jones, Age 42 - Alpharetta, Georgia After reading The Da Vinci Code, learning about Leonardo, and seeing his writings and drawings in Italy, I have come to the conclusion that as a scientific genius, yet truly spiritual person, it was Leonardo's intent to combine the human with the spiritual. Mona Lisa represents the joining of opposites (i.e., sadness and joy, man and woman, light and dark, reality and illusion). It is the simultaneous acknowledgement of ups and downs that makes the human soul complete. Mona Lisa is truly a Godlike work of art. Perhaps this is why she leaves us in such awe and why she has the key to our hearts. September 16, 2004 - Jasmine Warren, Age 10 - Jacksonville, Florida I think Leonardo painted Mona Lisa's portrait because he thought she was very interesting. September 16, 2004 - Leo, Age Unknown - Florida Mona Lisa ia freaky because her eyes follow you around. It also looks as if she is hiding many different emotions. Leonardo has created a picture that people have been trying to figure out for 500 years and counting. September 13, 2004 - Chris Sandon, Age 26 - Walled Lake, Michigan The enigma of Mona Lisa is similar to that of photographs made of the Dali Lhama. Different emotions are continually expressed depending upon the observer. She becomes a mirror of the viewer's own emotions. She has all of the emotional expressions of a woman who is pregnant. She self consciously looks away while her hands rest gently and protectively on her belly. Da Vinci perfectly captured the essence of Virgin Mary or Earth Mother. She is the creator, a symbol for life that Da Vinci himself must have been envious of. September 4, 2004 - Amelia Liner, Age 16 - Ontario, New York Mona is smiling because she was thinking of something amusing, like what Leonardo looked like in his underpants. It must have been pretty boring to just sit and have your portrait painted. Back then, there was no television or radio to keep yourself occupied, so you had to amuse yourself without moving. Mona was probably thinking of a really dirty joke, or a prank she just played on Leonardo. Perhaps she placed a needle on his chair. Maybe she rearranged the order of Leonardo's paints while he was not looking. It's the thought of this that is making Mona smile. August 26, 2004 - H.A. Wagner, Age 38 - Beachwood, New Jersey Picture this: Leonardo has just recently returned to his studio. Mona awaits as Da Vinci prepares to paint her mouth to the canvas. He asks her politely, "Madonna Lisa, are you ready?" She nods her head in agreement. Leonardo is quite pleased with her newly found passive behavior. Up until this point, Mona had been an arrogant shrew of a woman, constantly bossing Leonardo around as if she was a man herself! "Paint me beautiful." "Paint me with long hair." "Paint me with my mouth closed so no one can see how bad my teeth are." "Paint me in black so I look thinner!" "My husband is paying for this you know!" "You work for me and you'll do as I say!" Poor Leonardo had not a moments rest up until now. "Why", he thought as he painted, "does she not see me for the genius that I am. I can't imagine how a man could stay married to this woman!" Leonardo finishes painting Mona's lips and excuses himself to wash his hands. "Mmmmmmmm." "Hmmmmmmm", she rudely replies, never giving him the courtesy of meeting his glance. As Leonardo storms out of his studio, Mona lets go of her tightly gripped hands and opens her mouth. "God, that cigarette was burning my tongue! I thought he'd never leave!" August 24, 2004 - Roqayah Chamseddine, Age 15 - Benbrook, Texas Mona Lisa is not a woman, but rather a man. You might be thinking, "helloooo, she does not look like a man!" On the contrary, looks can be deceiving. Only those who know the secret code, can look at Leonardo's famous portrait and see the happy hermaphrodite that lurks within. August 22, 2004 - Karlie and Stacey, Age 16 - Australia We think that Mona is smiling because she just found out that she is pregnant with Leonardo's child. August 21, 2004 - Thomas, Age 9 - Mossyrock, Washington Have you ever noticed that the painting does not show Mona's feet? Maybe she is hiding something at her feet. Have you noticed that wherever you stand, Mona Lisa has her eye on you? Maybe Mona is some sort of magical person from a story that Leonardo wrote, but was never published. August 19, 2004 - Alitoe Ruttore, Age 17 - Acropolis, Arkansas My theory is that Mona Lisa had only one tooth, or perhaps none at all. She probably hated to smile because she was embarassed. August 17, 2004 - Kat, Age 16 - Australia The Mona Lisa is a painting of Leonardo. The faces line up exactly and she's smiling because she knows the secret. August 13, 2004 - Eveyn Miles, Age 12 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana I think that Mona Lisa is Da Vinci as a woman. Her smile makes me think that she is hiding something. I think she knows something that everybody else does not know. August 13, 2004 - Kaya Davis, Age 11 - Berkeley, California I believe that Mona Lisa is smiling because she has a scheme in mind. If she has a big smile, people would know she has a scheme, but if she keeps her expression subtle, they won't. Maybe she did not mean to smile, or perhaps she was just posing. Possibly she had a crush on Leonardo and was trying to keep from giggling so he would not know the truth. Is she real? That's a big question that hangs in my mind and I do not think I'll ever know the truth. August 13, 2004 - Steve Van Zundert, Age 20 - Bergen op Zoom, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands The reputation of the Mona Lisa as being the world's most famous painting, has nothing to do with her enigmatic smile. Da Vinci's love for this painting did not have anything to do with the artistic mastership that it was famous for. In reality, the painting is a surprisingly normal smufato portrait. The background of the painting is not the same on both sides. The horizon on the left side was painted a lot lower. As a result, Mona Lisa appears taller on the left side. Throughout history, left has been considered the female side, and right the male side. Da Vinci was a great supporter of the female principles in life. Accordingly, he made the painting appear more majestic on the left side versus the right side. Da Vinci was very interested in the balance between male and female. He believed that the human soul could not exist without both male and female elements. Just like the connection between Hermes and Aphrodite, which combine to form the term "hermaphrodite", both genders are equally genuine. The portrait of Mona Lisa has a lot of similarities with the face of Da Vinci. The picture has a subtle androgyny. Da Vinci left a very clear hint that he meant for this painting to be androgynous. Amon, the Egyptian male God of fertility, and his female counterpart, Isis, known also as L'Isa, are an anagram for Mona Lisa (i.e., Amon L'Isa --> Mona Lisa). Thus, the name Mona Lisa is really a devine contraction of both the male and female sides. This is the secret in Da vinci's Mona Lisa, and the reason for her evocative smile. August 12, 2004 - Jon Bradley, Age 12 - Spencer, West Virginia I recently learned that Leonardo was a homosexual. Have you ever noticed that Mona does not look like a male or female? Sorta weird, huh? If you want some proof, read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It's a really good book, not to mention a great mystery. August 10, 2004 - Ella Robertson, Age 24 - London, United Kingdom When observing the Mona Lisa, one is totally in awe. Many who have seen the painting are shocked to be standing in front of one of the most famous icons in the world. One must wonder why Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. Many believe the painting is famous due to the artist or his technique (i.e., sfumato). Many appreciate Mona Lisa for her smile, however, if you browse through any magazine, newspaper, or illustrated children's book, you'll find many pictures of smiling people who are not at all famous. There is nothing particularly special about Mona Lisa. She is not exceedingly pretty, nor is she unusually ugly, however there is a definite mystical quality about her that has managed to enchant viewers for centuries. Personally, I find it very hard to believe that Mona Lisa is an actual person who existed. She most likely came to Da Vinci as a vision in a dream. He was so mesmerizered that he was compelled to make a permanent record of her. July 19, 2004 - Bob Jackie, Age Unknown - Location Unknown Leonardo was a genius on many levels as an engineer, inventor, and practical joker. Mona is his greatest practical joke ever. The Mona Lisa has lasted for centuries! He created an illusion within an illusion. Who is Mona Lisa? Why is she so important? Is the Mona Lisa actually Leonardo himself? What is she thinking about? Why did Leonardo carry that foul painting around with him everywhere he went? Leonardo has crafted the most perfect joke to keep us guessing for centuries to come. Bravo Leonardo! March 12, 2004 - Ariana, Brittany, & Theiju, Ages 13 - Mahwah, NJ We think that Mona Lisa is smiling cuz' hey, life is good! If she's a cross dresser, eeeeew! Where did you guys come up with this stuff? March 1, 2004 - Kim Gibson, Age 48 - Delmar, Delaware I think Mona Lisa is Da Vinci in drag. That's why she's smiling. Mona Lisa has a secret and Leonardo did not want anyone to know that the painting is actually a self portrait. March 1, 2004 - Harley Finnigan, Age 13 - Horsham, Australia Mona Lisa is seriously depressed over something. February 27, 2004 - Miriam Vite, Age 15 - Mt. Prospect, Illinois Mona Lisa looks like she is hiding something. Perhaps she has done something bad, like committed murder. February 26, 2004 - Adam Rutter, Age 9 - Brookfield, Wisconsin Mona Lisa was smiling or smirking because she was a little embarrassed posing for a painting. February 24, 2004 - Sam Fuller, Age 13 - New York, New York I think that Mona is smiling because she knows something that other people don't. Her eyes glisten with knowledge of something wonderful. February 24, 2004 - Sara Murphy, Age 15 - Hamilton, Ontario I think Mona Lisa is smiling because she knows something that we don't. Mona Lisa was a manifestation of Leonardo's personal views on the social paradigms of his times. February 21, 2004 - Alfred Williams - Age & Location Unknown Mona is smiling in the same way someone would smile when thinking of an inside joke. Only Mona knows that the painting is truly Leonardo himself dressed in drag. She is laughing at the world, exclaiming, "Hey, you'll never guess it's me! Man, this is a super nice dress I'm wearing!" February 20, 2004 - T.J. Lane - Age & Location Unknown Leo painted himself in female clothing because he was a cross dresser. Unable to appear in public dressed in female attire, he carried the painting with him so he could enjoy the experience with no one the wiser. This is why Mona smiling. February 13, 2004 - Anonymous - Age & Location Unknown As history goes, chopines were a popular women's fashion in Europe between the 15th and 17th centuries. Chopines were big platform shoes, but were hidden under long dresses. Wealthy women most often had these. The Mona Lisa was painted during this time and it's also speculated that the painting is of a wealthy women named Lisa Giocondo. Based on this, if Mona Lisa were a real person, she most probably was wearing big 12 inch high chopines. February 13, 2004 - Tara Ernst, Age 9 - Location Unknown Mona Lisa was just a figment of Da Vinci's imagination. After all, there are no known records of this woman. November 9, 2003 - Tori Thompson, Age 16 - Toledo, Ohio Mona is either pregnant or she just had a spontaneous naughty thought. November 7, 2003 - Natalie Levitt, Age 14 - Melbourne, Australia Mona Lisa is what Leonardo would have looked like if he was a woman. In my mind, I have placed a beard and mustache on Mona and taken away her breasts. The result looks like so many pictures I have seen of Leonardo. November 2, 2003 - Charmon Ellyson, Age 17 - Location Unknown According to Timothy Findley's novel entitled 'Pilgrim', Mona Lisa was a victim of Leonardo. The book is an interesting read if you are interested in the works of Freud or Jung. November 2, 2003 - Reilly Martin, Age 12 - St. Johns, Canada I think Mona Lisa was hard for Leonardo to paint, so he used his smile instead. November 2, 2003 - Hedy Canessa, Age 12 - London, England Mona Lisa is smiling because she always thought of herself as ugly, so when she was asked to be painted, she was quite embarassed. October 30, 2003 - Rick Wittkop, Age 39 - Boulder, Colorado In trying to decipher the value of the Mona Lisa, many of you have gotten the premise wrong. Mona Lisa is not actually smiling. She is not frowning, nor is she smirking, snickering, or showing contempt. She is not showing any particular emotion at all, yet she is a composite of every emotion. Da Vinci succeeded in creating a facial expression which most closely approximates the neutral. The Mona Lisa is what you want her to be. She is what you need her to be. If you have a bad day, then Mona Lisa is smirking or laughing at you. Maybe she is thinking of how to manipulate you. It's as if Leonardo wanted to take each one of us by the nape of the neck, drag us over to her, shake us before his masterpiece, forcing us to look at his invention. It is important to recognize that Da Vinci was an inventor first and artist second. The Mona Lisa is NOT a portrait. No woman ever sat for Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. He invented her. He had to. If she was a real woman, thinking and feeling, her emotions would have effected the painting at the time of the sitting. Maybe she would have had a bad day or thought how to get this damn sitting over with. Perhaps Leonardo could have interviewed her first to determine her emotional state, but she never did exist, until you look at her. By looking at her, you define her and thereby cause her to exist. Da Vinci is a genius for his ideologies that preceded Nietzsche's subjective morality and Heisenberg's subjective quantam theory. Leonardo took Mona Lisa with him wherever he traveled because he loved showing it to people and listening to his audience's reaction. Holy smokes, did he ever have a hoot with it! August 26, 2003 - Nias Williams, Age 17 - Jacksonville, Florida There is good evidence that Mona Lisa is in fact the painter, Da Vinci. Mona might be a composite of Leonardo's mother and him together. August 18, 2003 - Boa Maroney, Age 21 - Gold Coast, Australia Mona Lisa has a subtle smirk, as if she holds the answer to some dark mysterious secret. Her eyes are like two shadowed gateways that lead into a land of knowledge about life and its many highs and lows. August 16, 2003 - Xu Yi, Age 16 - Zhejiang, China Leonardo made Mona smile as most models do when they are painted or photographed. Have you ever seen a model crying in a picture? August 4, 2003 - Elizabeth Marshall, Age 20 - Hamilton, New Zealand Mona Lisa smiles because she is pregnant. That is why she cradles her hands over her belly. She knows that another human being is alive underneath her heart. August 1, 2003 - Lisa Wonderland, Age 19 - United Kingdom We are all narcissists deep down. Da Vinci was definitely drawing a feminized version of himself. July 22, 2003 - Alexa M., Age 13- Melbourne, Australia Mona Lisa was not bought right away because it was too close to the artist Leonardo. Da Vinci was afraid that someone would take Mona away from him. July 4, 2003 - Fawzi Rahal, Age 23 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates Mona Lisa is smiling. If she were frowning, a similar argument would arise about why is she frowning. She is just smiling. Now stop analysing and get back to work! June 18, 2003 - Teagan Walters, Age 14 - Melbourne, Australia Mona Lisa is smiling because she has just received good news concerning a relative's forthcoming wedding. June 16, 2003 - Alice, Age 14 - Melbourne, Australia Mona was terribly unhappy in her relationship with her husband Francesco. She married him quite young and he was 19 years older. For this, Mona resented him, so she became extremely sad and bitter. Francesco made Leonardo paint Mona with a smiling face to capture what she looked like before she became a miserable wretch. June 12, 2003 - Hella, Age 24 - Germany Mona Lisa smiles because she is perfectly happy. Her looks are not astonishingly beautiful, nor ugly, but rather average. So why would Da Vinci paint her? I say it is because of her aura of being an absolutely happy and content person. When I lived in Italy, with its wonderful weather, beautiful landscape, food, wine and people, I smiled just like Mona! June 9, 2003 - Danika Garbowski, Age 14 - British Columbia, Canada It has been thought that Mona Lisa is a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. Carefully x-rayed and examined, this theory might very well be true. June 5, 2003 - Kaley Lynch, Age 13 - Lockport, New York Mona Lisa is not a real portrait at all. I think Mona is basically the very essence of feminity, or at least Da Vinci's version of it. I'd guess that he thought all women were as enigmatic as Mona Lisa. April 24, 2003 - David Bekele, Age 13 - West Sacramento, California Mona Lisa was a noble lady who Leonardo tried to make smile after a lot of hard work. She finally put forth a smerk and he kept that image in his head while he painted her portrait. April 23, 2003 - Donald Muendlein, Age 16 - White Haven, Pennsylvania Mona Lisa is a picture of Leonardo. Mona smiles because Da Vinci liked the way he looked as a woman. April 22, 2003 - Shiraz Varma - Asmara, Africa Also known as La Giaconda, this painting is a bizarre look into the psyche of Leonardo Da Vinci. April 15, 2003 - Robyn Baker, Age 15 - Newfoundland, Canada Mona Lisa is not always smiling. Only when you look at certain places on her face, does she crack a smile. This is precisely what made Leonardo da Vinci the amazing artist he is. He made art imitate life by making the expression on her face change, as it would on a living person. April 2, 2003 - Ahmed Marouk - Alexandria, Emprosso, Egypt Mona Lisa has my mother's smile. April 1, 2003 - Ben Van, Age 14 - White Haven, Pennsylvania Da Vinci was a very religous person. He believed in souls, feminine and masculine energy, and the fact that no person is complete without elements from both sexes. When he painted Mona Lisa, Da Vinci was experimenting with both feminine and masculine energy. March 8, 2003 - Nelson Teixeira - Lisbon, Portugal Mona Lisa is smiling because she knows that everyone who sees her portrait will wonder why she's happy. February 25, 2003 - Mona Lisa Schmekel, Age 50 - Uppsala, Sweden My name is Mona Lisa, but my friends call me Moa. Since I was a young child, I have been fascinated with the painting Mona Lisa, as well as the artist Leonardo Da Vinci. I have collected boxes, pillows, books, and anything else that bears Da Vinci's famous icon. I am not named after the painting exactly. My father loved Nat King Cole's song Mona Lisa, which was popular in 1955, the year of my birth. As an adult, I visited a fortune teller, who told me I was Mona Lisa in another life. Of course I cannot prove it, but it feels right in my heart. I have had a few flashbacks from Da Vinci's time period, which keeps me fascinated with Mona Lisa to this very day. September 19, 2002 - Santana Jacobs - Saskatchewan, Canada Mona probably got into a fist fight with another kid in school and got her teeth punched out. That's why she's smiling without showing her teeth. June 7, 2002 - Lindsay Macik - Belford, New Jersey Leonardo never saw his mother and he painted the Mona Lisa as a good guess of what his mother looked like. Leonardo carried this painting wherever he went. He had an intense sentimental attachment to the painting. If you compare the portrait Leonardo did of himself with Mona Lisa, you can see that the two fit perfectly together. Mona Lisa looks a lot like Leonardo, in a feminine version. Leonardo took his own physical features to make a portrait of his mother. May 16, 2002 - Christopher Nash - London, United Kingdom The scenery behind Mona is jagged and perilous on the left side, which is countered by a smooth and tranquil landscape on the right side. The right side also has an enticing bridge for you to cross, and the colours are less harsh. The face of Mona Lisa is the most hotly debated artifact. I think Leonardo created this face in two halves. The first point to note is the lips. She is smiling on the right side, but seems quite nonchalant on the left side. The right eye appears quite happy, but the left eye seems less than chuffed. August 24, 2002 - Pat Lawrence - Age & Location Unknown How are you feeling today?, a visual theory by Pat Lawrence: September 9, 2001 - Marco Arpon - Mexico Mona Lisa is a portrait of Leonardo's illegitimate daughter. The absence of any reference in his work to the model is intentional. The fact that Mona is his daughter, explains how Leonardo's face can be so similar to hers. April 30, 2001 - Ryan Goll - Avondale, Arizona Leonardo used a combination of his face and that of the Dutchess Isabella to create Mona Lisa. When you compare the two together, it is quite astonishing. The painting was originally intended to be of Isabella, but Da Vinci wanted to add some of his own features (i.e., forehead, throat, and cheek bones). November 9, 2000 - Detroit Free Press - Detroit, Michigan Exhaustion from posing may have led to Mona Lisa's rather odd smile. An Italian doctor says the secret to Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile was a compulsive gnashing of the teeth. Filippo Surano believes that the noblewoman in Leonard Da Vinci's portrait suffered from bruxism, an unconscious habit where one compulsively grinds their teeth during sleep or periods of mental stress. Surano says the strain of posing for the painting could have triggered an attack of teeth grinding. Mona Lisa Mania - 29173 Northwestern Highway - Southfield, Michigan 48034 The Print Gallery © 1999 The Print Gallery