[164]

X was born in Italy in 1479 and at the age of 15 was married to a modestly successful silk & cloth merchant. Years after their marriage, her husband commissioned a portrait of her. However in the middle of the assignment, the artist found more important work, leaving the portrait unfinished for years.
The artist was finally able to complete the work many years later, but never gave it back to X’s family.
Can you identify X, the subject of this portrait?

Show Answer
Lisa del Giocondo, the subject of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
This portrait has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, [and] the most parodied work of art in the world".
Read More about the person behind the painting.