Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings of all time, in 1503. He was working on a special painting for a church at the time, but it was not going (good). The woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa is said to be Madonna Lisa del Giocondo. She was the wife of an Italian businessman. Her husband asked da Vinci (paint) a portrait (肖像) of her.
After da Vinci finished the painting in 1506, he was invited by the French King to visit France he took the painting with him. Today the Mona Lisa is kept in the Louvre, an art museum in Paris, and it is seen by about six million (visit) a year.
The painting measures (测量为) only 77 centimeters by 53 centimeters and is painted oil on wood. In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at the Louvre, stole the painting. He took it out of the museum by hiding it under (he) coat. Two years later, police officers found painting when he tried to sell it.
In 1962, the Mona Lisawas (take) to Washington and New York for artwork shows. For the journey, the museum (want) to insure (给……投保) the painting. The insurance company set the value of it at 100 million dollars, making it the most (value) painting ever! Today, the value of the painting would be over 700 million dollars.
