“Discover the Timeless Humor: 50 Art History Memes That Show We’ve Been Laughing at the Same Struggles for Centuries!”
#2
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#3
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
It is said Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci started painting her somewhere between 1503 or 1506. The real Mona Lisa was apparently a lady called Lisa Gherardini who married a wealthy Italian man and became Lisa del Giocondo. Her husband had asked da Vinci to paint her. But the portrait became a masterpiece in procrastination.
#4
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#5
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#6
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
Da Vinci worked on it for several years, carrying it everywhere with him. He’s believed to have only finished it shortly before he died in 1519. And it was never handed over to the client. Instead, the artist sold it to France’s King Francis I in 1518. The painting eventually ended up in The Louvre in Paris but didn’t attract as much attention back then as it does now. And here’s why…
#7
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#8
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#9
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
Ms Mona Lisa is known for her mysterious smile and captivating gaze. But that’s not what made her so famous. On 21 August 1911, a maintenance worker at The Louvre snuck into the museum on a Saturday afternoon. The Italian ripped the painting off the wall, hid it under his clothes and walked out onto the street.
#10
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#11
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
#12
Image credits: ArtMemeLord
The theft made world headlines. And the painting gained fame overnight. Crowds poured into the gallery to see the empty space where it once hung. Newspapers printed photos of it. The Mona Lisa was turned into postcards, a short film and even cabaret songs. But the original painting remained missing. As police investigated, another famous artist Pablo Picasso was one of those arrested on suspicion he’d stolen it. He was quickly released and the search continued.
