Painting Mona Lisa

by Jeanne Kalogridis

Painting Mona Lisa offers an explanation behind the mysteries surrounding da Vinci's famous portrait -- why did Leonardo keep the Mona Lisa with him until his death? An intricately woven tale of betrayal, love and loss, which unravels the mysteries surrounding da Vinci's most famous portrait. April 26, 1478. Giuliano de Medici, brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the head of the powerful Florentine Medici family, is assassinated. Ten years later, a young Lisa Gherardini listens to the story of Giuliano's death, unaware of the significance it holds for her future. Drawn into the Medici circle by her passion for the Arts, Lisa meets the Medici's most luminescent friend: da Vinci. Against the turbulent backdrop of Savonarola's Florence the two become conspirators and eventually each other's saviours in this parallel love story of infinite twists.