One of the most famous paintings, if not the most famous painting is the Mona Lisa,painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
In 1503 or 1504 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint Lisa del Giocondo (nee Gherardini), the painting became known as the Mona Lisa. Aged 15, real-life Lisa Gherardini married Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. a modestly successful cloth and silk merchant, becoming his third wife. Lisa’s dowry( the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband or his family in marriage)was 170 florins and the San Silvestro farm near her family’s country home.
Francesco del Giocondo,regularly bought girls from North Africa and converted them to Christianity with many working as maids at the del Giocondo household. However there would have been too many to work in the household, it is therefor very likely he sold some of the girls as slaves.
Lisa’s sister Camilla, who was a nun, caused a scandal when she and some other nuns were accused of allowing four men to touch them indecently.
I wonder how much reasons did Lisa have to smile.
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Sources
Martin Kemp and Giuseppe Pallanti: Mona Lisa: The People and The Painting.
History of Sorts 
“Allowing” —like they had a choice. I did not know this about Mona and her sister.Thanks for the interesting blog post. Keep up the good work with the WWII/Holocaust posts. They’re needed m than ever right now.
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Reblogged this on History of Sorts.
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