Mascara's Reflections on Life's Lil Treasures: Photojournal Blog: Snapshots of Mascara's Love Story with breathtakingly beautiful Paris

Beautiful monuments everywhere!!

Note: Me at Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the oldest church, completed in 1345 (right picture)

Absolute madness of people & vehicle traffic at the Champs-Élysées, & HRC Paris

The Eiffel Tower - love!!

The Eiffel tower - standing tall & beautiful, day and night

Me at the top of the Eiffel Tower! Super gayat!

The Musee Du Louvre - my absolute favourite!

The historical collections in the Louvre, including the Winged Victory of Samothrace (bottom picture) - It is considered one of the Louvre's greatest treasures, and since the late 19th century it has been displayed in the most dramatic fashion, at the head of the sweeping Daru staircase. The loss of the head and arms, while regrettable in a sense, is held by many to enhance the statue's depiction of the supernatural - taken from Wikipedia

The painting of Mona Lisa (Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco Giocondo)

- Leonardo Da Vinci

This portrait was doubtless painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506. It is thought to be of Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo - hence the alternative title, La Gioconda. However, Leonardo seems to have taken the completed portrait to France rather than giving it to the person who commissioned it. It was eventually returned to Italy by Leonardo's student and heir Salai. It is not known how the painting came to be in François I's collection.

The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear are the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection.
The portrait may have been painted to mark one of two events - either when Francesco del Giocondo and his wife bought their own house in 1503, or when their second son, Andrea, was born in December 1502 after the death of a daughter in 1499. The delicate dark veil that covers Mona Lisa's hair is sometimes considered a mourning veil. In fact, such veils were commonly worn as a mark of virtue. Her clothing is unremarkable. Neither the yellow sleeves of her gown, nor her pleated gown, nor the scarf delicately draped round her shoulders are signs of aristocratic status (taken from & credits to http://www.louvre.fr)