Historical Timeline

Five centuries of documented sightings, eyewitness accounts, and scientific examination. Every record traces the column evidence through the Mona Lisa’s journey from Leonardo’s studio to the Louvre.

The Record

1503 — Commission & Beginning

Leonardo receives commission to paint Lisa Gherardini. Agostino Vespucci documents the work in a letter dated October 1503, noting that the artist has begun the portrait. This Heidelberg Document is the earliest written reference to the painting.

1504 — Raphael’s Visit

KEY EVIDENCE. The young Raphael Sanzio visits Leonardo’s studio in Florence and sketches the painting from direct observation. His pen-and-ink drawing (Louvre inv. 3882, 22.2 × 15.9 cm) captures the composition in meticulous detail—including a pair of fully rendered Ionic columns framing the figure. This sketch is universally accepted by art historians as made directly from the living work. No scholar has ever questioned its authenticity or its derivation from the painting itself.

1503—1516 — The Prado Copy Paradox

KEY EVIDENCE. A workshop assistant (likely Francesco Melzi or another pupil) paints a simultaneous copy while Leonardo works on the original. This Prado copy survives in Madrid. Infrared examination in 2012 proved identical pentimenti (underdrawing corrections), confirming it was copied from the original. However, the columns in the copy are rendered as minimal architectural bases only—not the full, graceful Ionic columns visible in Raphael’s 1504 sketch. This is the central paradox: Raphael sees complete columns in 1504; the copyist records only bases. Both view the original simultaneously. Yet the forensic evidence of 2004 proves the painting was never trimmed.

1506 — Vasari’s Report

Giorgio Vasari reports that Leonardo had worked on the portrait for four years and left it unfinished. This account appears in his Lives of the Artists and shapes the Renaissance narrative of the painting’s uncertain completion.

1513—1516 — French Court

Leonardo accepts the patronage of the French king and brings the painting with him to the Château de Cloux in Amboise. The work accompanies the aging master into exile.

1517 — Antonio de Beatis Visit

Antonio de Beatis, secretary to the Cardinal of Aragon, visits Leonardo at Cloux and documents seeing the painting. He describes it as “perfettissimo” (most perfect). The painting is now in French custody, under a different patron (Giuliano de’ Medici) than the original Florence patron. This is the last documented sighting before Leonardo’s death.

1519 — Leonardo’s Death

Leonardo da Vinci dies on May 2 at Cloux. The painting’s fate becomes uncertain. It passes to Francesco Melzi, Leonardo’s student and heir.

1550 — Vasari First Edition

Vasari publishes the first edition of his Lives. He describes the Mona Lisa in detail: the missing eyebrows and eyelashes (which are indeed absent from the current painting), the sfumato technique, and the landscape. Notably, Vasari makes no mention of columns or architectural framing. This absence is conspicuous, as he is usually precise about compositional details.

1568 — Vasari Second Edition

The second edition of the Lives is published. Vasari adds more detail about the sfumato and the portrait’s fame, but still does not mention columns. The omission in both editions suggests that either he never saw them, or they were not visible to him by his time.

1584 — Lomazzo’s Ambiguous Reference

Giovan Paolo Lomazzo, the theorist and painter, writes: “il ritratto della Gioconda E di Mona Lisa” (the portrait of the Gioconda AND of Mona Lisa). The use of “and” (E) instead of “or” is unusual and suggests he may have known of two distinct versions. Lomazzo was familiar with Francesco Melzi’s collection after Melzi’s death, giving him access to knowledge others did not possess.

Mid-16th Century — Early Copies with Columns Appear

Copies of the Mona Lisa begin to circulate in European collections, several of which preserve the full Ionic columns: the Isleworth version, the Hermitage version, and others. These copies, unlike the Prado version, show the complete architectural framing. They suggest a circulation of knowledge about a “columned version” even as the Louvre painting records only bases.

Early 17th Century — Columned Copies Proliferate

Multiple high-quality copies appear in royal and noble collections: the Oslo/Vernon version (full columns), the Walters Art Museum version (full columns), and the Hekking version (no columns). This diversity suggests that by the 17th century, knowledge of multiple versions was widespread among collectors and copyists.

1625 — Cassiano dal Pozzo Sighting

Cassiano dal Pozzo, the great Roman antiquary, documents seeing the painting in the French royal collection. His description is brief but confirms the work is then in France.

1683 — Le Brun Inventory

The painter Charles Le Brun includes the Mona Lisa in his inventory of the Versailles collection. This is the first formal record of the painting in the French royal holdings.

1850s — Early Photography

Gustave Le Gray and other early photographers document the painting. These photographs confirm the current state: no visible columns, only landscape bases. The earliest photographs become the reference point for all subsequent restoration and conservation work.

1911—1913 — Theft and Recovery

The painting is stolen by the handyman Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later. Contemporary photographs taken before and after the theft confirm the painting’s state remains unchanged. The evidence of the theft and recovery adds a layer of authentication to the current condition.

2004 — C2RMF Scientific Examination

KEY EVIDENCE. The Louvre undertakes a comprehensive multispectral and material analysis led by Dr. Philippe Walter. Thirty-nine international specialists examine the painting using X-radiography, UV fluorescence, pigment stratigraphy, microscopy, and other advanced techniques. The examination proves definitively that the panel was never trimmed: the barbe is intact on all four edges, the craquelure network is continuous, the varnish is original, and the paint layers are uninterrupted. The forensic evidence is absolute and irreversible.

2012 — Prado Restoration Revelation

KEY EVIDENCE. The Prado copy undergoes major restoration, revealing its landscape. The infrared imaging proves the pentimenti are identical to the Louvre original—the copyist and Leonardo made the same compositional revisions. This confirmation of parallel creation is crucial. However, the landscape in both paintings lacks the architectural columns. Yet Raphael’s 1504 sketch unmistakably shows them. Louvre curator Véronique Delieuvin states publicly: “Raphael must have based his sketch on another version of the painting.” The official interpretation is born: a lost original, or an intermediate state, containing the columns that Raphael recorded.

2026 — The Column Mystery Remains

The contradiction persists unresolved. The forensic evidence says the Louvre painting was never altered. Raphael’s eyewitness sketch says columns existed in 1504. The Prado copy says they were absent by 1503—1516. No explanation has successfully bridged this gap. The mystery endures.

The Timeline Paradox

The historical record reveals a persistent and unresolved contradiction: the earliest and most authoritative eyewitness document—Raphael’s 1504 sketch drawn directly from observation—depicts complete Ionic columns framing the composition. Yet the forensic evidence of 2004 categorically proves this same panel was never trimmed or altered. The columns cannot have been removed (the science forbids it), yet the Prado copy contemporaneous with Leonardo’s work shows only architectural bases. Either Leonardo painted two versions simultaneously, Raphael drew from memory or imagination, or a fundamental assumption about the painting’s identity is mistaken. The timeline does not resolve the mystery; it deepens it.