The infamous Mona Lisa portrait by Leonardo da Vinci has been on permanent display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797. I saw it back in 1973 while stationed in Germany at the Iron Curtain, and then saw it again about 40 years later when sent overseas again by the US Army. The first visit was a bit different than now. First visit, you could linger around the portrait as long as you wanted and take numerous photos, and I seem to remember it was in a room by itself. Years later, there was a massive line of visitors, you had to wait your turn to view, then you only got a few moments to take a photo and move on.
One of my photos was taken by my daughter while I was waiting to see Mona and I’m in the white shirt with the colored emblem on the back.
According to Wikipedia, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world". I liked the look in her eyes. The painting has been definitively identified to depict Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo. Part of the fame of this portrait was begun by Vincenzo Peruggia who was an Italian museum worker, artist, and thief, most famous for stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum in Paris on 21 August 1911.
Like the 7 Wonders of the World, you just have to see Mona Lisa in person.
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