Back in Florence, we meet Lisa Gherardini, wife of the merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The family name explains “Gioconda”; written accounts and surviving documentation fit the beginning of the portrait around 1503. This is the identification supported by the Louvre and the prevailing scholarly consensus: the woman in the painting is Lisa Gherardini.
The whole story stays in view; this chapter’s people are highlighted. Atlas controls are in Spanish.
People in this chapter
Leonardo da Vinci
Painter, engineer and investigator of nature who worked in Florence, Milan, Rome and France. His service to the Sforza, Cesare Borgia, the Medici and Francis I connects his artistic work with the courts and political networks of his time.
English profile ↗Full profile and sources in Spanish ↗Lisa Gherardini
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Full profile and sources in Spanish ↗Francesco del Giocondo
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Full profile and sources in Spanish ↗Sources and coverage
Coverage is selective. Source titles remain in their original language; the Spanish records retain the detailed documentary notes.
Sources and methodology