I spent the summer of my 15th year traveling through France. One of the highlights of that summer was a day at the Louvre, the world's most famous museum. I specifically recall viewing the Mona Lisa , chiefly because I didn't get a very good look at it. It was enclosed in a glass case which made it somewhat cloudy to see, and was further obscured by the public being prevented from coming within about 10 feet of it.
      Although the Mona Lisa has been much admired from its beginning the current status, unprecedented for any work of art, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Napoleon Bonaparte hung this painting in his bedroom. The fame which is almost a cult following this painting has achieved in the last one hundred and fifty years seems to be a function of the mass media and of the late 19th early 20th century image of Paris as an artistic mecca. The woman in the picture is in no way beautiful, in fact she is somewhat homely. She is not an important aristocrat, there is no agreement on exactly who she is. Much has been made about her smile, but I see this as an observation after the fact by commentators determined to cash in on the notoriety of the Mona Lisa.