Dark family history behind Mona Lisa's sad smile revealed in new book

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Dark family history behind Mona Lisa's sad smile revealed in new book

At the age of 15, real-life Lisa Gherardini married Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo – who traded in female slaves shipped in from North Africa, authors say

    Jeff Farrell
    Tuesday 29 August 2017 01:01 BST
 The Independent Online
 

Mona Lisa posed with a dark smile because she was married off to a slave trader at just 15, a new book which investigated her family background suggests.

Lisa Gherardini, the real-life model who posed for Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting, was pushed into a wedding with wealthy Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/world-history/mona-lisa-gherardini-book-people-and-the-painting-martin-kemp-and-giuseppe-pallanti-florence-a7916991.html