This is Part 1 of a meta-list of the most highly-regarded paintings, sculptures and various other works of visual art. This list contains the paintings and sculptures and several pieces of decorative art on three or more of the original source lists, organized by rank, that is, with the artworks that were on the most lists at the top.
Part 1 begins with the artworks that were on the most lists 28 and ends with the artworks that were on 6 lists. Part 2 includes the works of art on 4 or 5 of the original source lists. Part 3 includes works on 3 of the original source lists. Artist: Leonardo da Vinci Date: Most agree that the painting was begun in Milan about , with major work completed by , but that Leonardo continued to work on the portrait and may not have completed it until Some scholars believe the painting begun in has been lost and the surviving portrait was not begun until The small painting is a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo born Lisa Gherardini , the third wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, a Florentine cloth and silk merchant.
But although del Giocondo commissioned the work, there is no evidence that he ever paid for it or received it. In fact, Leonardo da Vinci kept the painting with him for years, probably continuing to work on it after he moved from Italy to France.
Some aspects of the painting hearken back to traditional Madonna paintings, but the artist distances us from the subject by inserting the arm of a chair between her and the viewer. Also distancing us from the subject is her famous enigmatic expression with the half-smile that, some have said, looks on the viewer with bemusement while she keeps her secrets to herself.
A contemporary drawing of the painting by Raphael shows a different background, with prominent columns. This has led some art historians to speculate that an earlier version of the portrait has been lost and the existing version without the columns came later. Although he was known for his sculptures, Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint religious scenes over the blue ceiling dotted with stars of the chapel where the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church met to elect new popes.
