Mona Lisa Mystery
Leonardo da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa in
1503. It took him many years to paint this picture. The
Mona Lisa is now the world’s most famous painting.
What is so special about the Mona Lisa? The painting
shows a young woman with a mysterious smile. After
five hundred years, people still want to know what she
is thinking. The country of France keeps this painting in
an art gallery called the Louvre. Because it is so famous,
this painting now needs protection. In 1911, a gallery
worker hid the Mona Lisa under his coat. He stole the
painting and gave it to a friend. His friend copied the
painting a few times. Each time, he sold the copy and
called it the real Mona Lisa. This friend hid the real Mona
Lisa in a box. He kept it there for two years.
Then, when he tried to sell the painting,
the police caught him. The Mona Lisa
soon went back to the gallery. There are
some funny tributes to the Mona Lisa.
These tributes make the Mona Lisa even
more famous. An artist from Japan made
a Mona Lisa from pieces of burned toast.
Also, a lego fan used over thirty thousand
lego blocks to create Mona Lego. What
would Leonardo da Vinci think of that?