Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Giuseppe Pallanti, following Giorgio Vasari's lead, bases his work on a meticulous and in-depth review of archival materials in attributing a name to one of the most iconic faces in art history: Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The author looks beyond the myth enshrouding one of the absolute masterpieces of Leonardo's genius, and gives us Mona Lisa as an authentic and living woman. With his engaging and casual style, he has reconstructed her personal and historical dimension. The revelation of the mysterious identity of the model, hidden up until now and object of the most disparate and far-fetched hypotheses, certainly takes nothing away from the enigmatic quality of that "smile". It becomes even more fascinating to us after we have been immersed in the world of her affections and read her husband's will, palpably imbued with a genuine love for his "cherished wife". The beauty of her spirit now seems even more radiant than the external beauty eternalized by Leonardo.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

As the Western world's most famous portrait, the Mona Lisa is so familiar and well studied it would seem little new information can be brought to its analysis. Pallanti (Florence, Italy) offers evidence to the contrary. In this brief and quirky two-part book, the author assembles copious information regarding the presumed identity of the sitter, her husband, the painter, and their respective families. His grand conclusion, somewhat underwhelming, is that Giorgio Vasari's original account of the painting (written before 1550) is probably accurate--that the painting represents Lisa Gherardini, wife of wealthy merchant Francesco del Giocondo, and that it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in Florence around 1503-6. A key contribution is the well-argued hypothesis that Leonardo's father, notary Piero da Vinci, probably served as the essential link between businessman and artist. Part 1 is decidedly general and part 2 is steeped in the minutiae of family histories. Much is made of circumstantial evidence, some documentary and some anecdotal, but the book does help to understand the persons most likely involved in the creation of this extraordinary portrait. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers. A. V. Coonin Rhodes College

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Giuseppe Pallanti , a teacher from Florence who has spent 25 years researching the city's archives, has discovered the first clear evidence that da Vinci's family was closely connected to the silk trader, Ser Francesco del Giocondo, who married Lisa Gherardini in 1495. He has been praised by other scholars for helping to solve the Mona Lisa mystery.