r/LeonardodaVinci

The Louvre dates the Mona Lisa to roughly 1503–1519, and Leonardo apparently kept the painting with him and continued working on it rather than simply completing and delivering it. I'm especially curious about what the historical evidence tells us, as opposed to the mythology that has grown up around the painting.

As an artist myself, I find that fascinating. Do art historians have a good understanding of why he continued returning to this particular painting for so long? Was it perfectionism, experimentation with technique, dissatisfaction with the work, or did the painting's purpose change for him over time?

I have a completely unsupported theory involving a succession of girlfriends and an artist who didn't want to start a new canvas. 😁

In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi shocked the world when it sold for $450.3 million. Yet behind its record-breaking price lies a centuries-old mystery: the crystal orb held by Christ. If the orb were solid, basic optics suggest that the robes behind it should appear distorted. Instead, they remain strangely undisturbed. Was Leonardo making a scientific mistake, or was there something more deliberate at work? Three major theories emerged, from divine symbolism and Renaissance artistic conventions to modern computer simulations. The final theory suggests Leonardo may have painted a hollow glass sphere with astonishing optical accuracy—possibly proving that the “mistake” was actually genius.

r/LeonardodaVinci

Astronaut's view of Earth during a spacewalk

Why did Leonardo da Vinci keep working on the Mona Lisa for so many years?

Salvator Mundi - Leonardo da Vinci. ( c. 1499–1510 )