Leonardo da Vinci's portrayal of feminine beauty in Mona Lisa

Leonardo Da Vinci

Sitting with Leonardo at a cafe in Paris, on the side walk and watching the street show, the first question that would come to my mind would be regarding the most famous painting in the world: Mona Lisa. Was he is love with her? I know that he starting painting the portrait of Francesco del Giocondo's third wife around 1503, when she was twenty-seven years old.

A noticed that he chose to depict her without any jewelry, leaving the details of her clothes almost entirely in the dark, casting light only on her face and hands. The style resembles that of Madonna depictions at the time, but the technique is far more superior.

Vasari describes the painting in the section dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci in his "Lives." He praises Leonardo for having succeeded to bring a picture to life with such a masterful hand. His description of the painting leaves the impression that Vasari was fascinated with Mona Lisa, the woman himself.

Was Leonardo's intention to use his art and perfect technique to create the perfect image of the womanhood? Did he go beyond the mere representation of a portrait? Why did it take him so long to finish the portrait and why did take a break before resuming to paint it? Is Mona Lisa the ideal of feminine essence? Mother, lover, harbor for the man who comes home to his beloved mistress, after having crossed the troubled waters?