Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde), is a 16th-century oil painting on poplar wood by Leonardo da Vinci, and is arguably the most famous painting in the world.
 Few works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody. It is owned by the French government and hangs in the Museum du Louvre in Paris.

Leonardo began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 and, according to Vasari, completed it in four years.

Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter.