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He worked at the portrait for the next
four years. When Leonardo left Florence in 1507 he did not sell the painting to
the orderer but he kept it for himself. Several believe, that Leonardo did not
hand over the painting, because he did not finish the work, other believe that
Leonardo loved the painting to much.
Leonardo da Vinci arrived with the painting in his
baggage in France in the year 1516. Leonardo sold the painting in France to King
Francis I., who bought it for the castle in Amboise. In the following time Mona
Lisa came to Fontainbleau, Paris, Versailles and then to the collection of
Ludwig XIV. After the revolution in France the painting got a new home in the
Louvre. Napoleon took it away from there and hung it up in his bedroom. When
Napoleon was banished Mona Lisa returned into the great Louvre in Paris.
On 21 August 1911 Mona Lisa was stolen from an italian thief, who brought the painting to
Italy, where it emerged two years later in
Florence. After some exhibitions Mona Lisa returned again to Paris.
An acid attempt damaged the lower half of the painting
in 1956. The restoration took several years.
In the 60īs and 70īs Mona Lisa was exposed in New
York, Tokyo and Moscow. Today the painting is behind bullet-proof glass in Paris
in the Louvre and international terms are prohibiting any journey.
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