Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 63719-h.htm or 63719-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63719/63719-h/63719-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63719/63719-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/louvrefiftyplate00konorich Some characters might not display properly in this UTF-8 text file (e.g., empty squares). If so, the reader should consult the html version or the original page images noted above. Transcriber’s note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). THE LOUVRE: FIFTY PLATES IN COLOUR [Illustration: PLATE IV.—LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) FLORENTINE SCHOOL No. 1601.—PORTRAIT OF MONA LISA (La Joconde) The portrait of Lisa di Anton Maria di Noldo Gherardini, third wife of Francesco di Bartolommeo de Zenobi del Giocondo. She is seated in a chair on which her left arm rests, her right hand superposed on the left. She is turned three-quarters to her right. Her hair, divided in the centre and seen under a transparent veil, falls in curls on her shoulders; her dark almond-shaped eyes look out at the spectator; the mouth is smiling. She wears a dark-green dress with golden-brown sleeves; a dark cloak is draped over her shoulders. The background is formed by a mountainous landscape full of incident. Painted in tempera on panel, and restored in oil. 2 ft. 6½ in. × 1 ft. 9 in. (0·79 × 0·53.)] THE LOUVRE: FIFTY PLATES IN COLOUR by PAUL G. KONODY and MAURICE W. BROCKWELL Joint-Authors of “The National Gallery: One Hundred Plates in Colour” Editor: T. Leman Hare [Illustration] New York Dodge Publishing Company 214-220 East 23rd Street PREFACE Those who wish to make a thorough, comprehensive, and systematic study of the pictures of the great national collection contained in the Louvre, which extend from the early years of the fourteenth century down to almost the present day, will be well advised to deal with the artists by the countries, schools, and periods to which they belong. That is the scheme which we have followed here.