One of the most treasured artworks of all time is the Mona Lisa. In some places, the painting is referred to as La Gioconda. Both of these names have stemmed from a biography on Leonardo Da Vinci where the identity of the woman is revealed as the wife of Francesco Del Giocondo whose name was Lisa. Before the biography, the painting had a number of names including "a certain Florentine Lady" and "a courtesan in a gauze veil."
King Francois I bought the Mona Lisa from Leonard Da Vinci in 1516. Sometime after the French Revolution the painting went to reside alongside other famous artworks in the Louvre until Napoleon placed the painting in his palace bedroom. It was later returned back to the Louvre and went into hiding during the Franco-Prussian war.
On August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen. It was stolen by an employee of the Louvre who was told he would receive compensation. However, that person did not need to buy the painting he only wanted it out of site so he could make his own artworks that he would sell as the original. After a couple years, the employee was never paid and decided to turn himself in.
For insurance purposes the painting was assessed prior to 1962 for $100 million. The Guiness Book of World Records marked the painting as the most valuable of artworks ever insured. The record has since been broken by one of Pablo Picasso's works that sold for $104.1 million.
Today the theory that the Mona Lisa is model is debated. Some say that Francesco's wife may have been the model for one of his other artworks that involved a model. Some critics say it is a man maybe even Francesco Del Gioncondo himself, while others say it is a self portrait.