The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the world's most well-known painting. It is difficult to think of another piece of

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the world's most well-known painting. It is difficult to think of another piece of artwork that has been analysed, talked about and written about to quite the same degree as this one. Some believe that the model was da Vinci's own mother, Caterina, or Princess Isabella of Naples, or a Spanish noblewoman named Costanza d'Avalos. Some even suggested that da Vinci based the portrait on his own likeliness due to the subject's slightly masculine facial features.
A) The painting was eventually acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic.
B) Perhaps the most plausible answer came from art historian Vasari, who suggested that the model was Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo.
C) But however famous the portrait is, the true inspiration behind that half-smile has never been truly discovered.
D) It has remained on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797 where it continues to attract huge crowds.
E) A 500-year-old note by one of da Vinci's friends, which stated that the artist was working on the portrait, was recently discovered.