What is the name of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting?

Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting is the Mona Lisa.

The half-length portrait is traditionally believed to depict Lisa del Giocondo, a Florentine woman whose married name inspired the Italian title La Gioconda. Leonardo probably began the painting around 1503 and may have continued refining it for years. It is painted in oil on a poplar wood panel and is now displayed in the Louvre in Paris.

Its fame comes from more than the sitter’s enigmatic expression. Leonardo used subtle shading, atmospheric perspective, and a landscape background to create an unusually lifelike image. The painting’s worldwide reputation grew dramatically after it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and recovered in 1913, generating enormous international publicity.

The Mona Lisa is sometimes confused with Leonardo’s The Last Supper, which is another landmark work and arguably his most famous painting of the 1490s. The question’s standard answer is nevertheless the Mona Lisa, widely regarded as the world’s best-known painting.