The Monalisa
As mentioned earlier, Leonardo Da Vinci has given us some great things, but what he may likely always be remembered for, is the creation of the best known, most popular, most talked about, most studied, and the most visited painting in the history of art: The Mona Lisa. Da Vinci finished this painting somewhere between 1503 and 1506, and it depicts a noble woman with an enigmatic expression, while also showcasing composition, subtle forms, and atmospheric illusions. At some point, the Mona Lisa was acquired by the King of France, and since 1797, it has been on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris. For a brief time though, the Mona Lisa was missing, after a Louvre employee, Vincenzo Peruggia, managed to steal it in 1911, after the museum closed for the day. It was eventually found two years later and returned to the Louvre, which was very fortunate, considering that at the time it was valued at around 100 million dollars. It is now worth over 2 billion