This week’s theme was inspired by the title of my favorite song from Elton John, which is Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. You don’t have to be familiar with the song to listen to the episodes, but if you haven’t, it’s one of the more underrated of his songs. Naturally, we’re starting the week talking about the famous painting and the even more famous smile painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

In this episode, we’ll be talking about the real-life woman in the painting, how the painting may have achieved its fame because of being stolen and why the smile on the painting’s subject is so mysterious.

I’m your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind The Mona Lisa

The role of Luc Maspero was played by Fee from The Ultra Podcast.

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Media:

Music for Makers

Sources:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/62280/14-things-you-didnt-know-about-mona-lisa

http://www.ibtimes.com/why-mona-lisa-so-famous-310480

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/stolen-how-the-mona-lisa-became-the-worlds-most-famous-painting-16406234/

http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-posed-for-leonardo-da-vincis-mona-lisa

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/secret-behind-mona-lisa-smile-discovered-326770

http://www.ibtimes.com/why-mona-lisa-so-famous-310480

http://www.livescience.com/4648-25-secrets-mona-lisa-revealed.html

http://www.livescience.com/32483-why-does-mona-lisas-smile-change.html