Description
Presents a history of Florence and its wealthiest families during the lifetime of Leonardi da Vinci, presenting facts which support the premise that Lisa del Gioconda, a wealthy resident of the city, was the model for Leonardo's most famous painting.
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Giuseppe Pallanti, following Giorgio Vasari's lead, bases his work on a meticulous and in-depth review of archival materials in attributing a name to one of the most iconic faces in art history: Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The author looks beyond the myth enshrouding one of the absolute masterpieces of Leonardo's genius, and gives us Mona Lisa as an authentic and living woman. With his engaging and casual style, he has reconstructed her personal and historical dimension. The revelation of the mysterious identity of the model, hidden up until now and object of the most disparate and far-fetched hypotheses, certainly takes nothing away from the enigmatic quality of that "smile". It becomes even more fascinating to us after we have been immersed in the world of her affections and read her husband's will, palpably imbued with a genuine love for his "cherished wife". The beauty of her spirit now seems even more radiant than the external beauty eternalized by Leonardo.
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