LISA IS A BIG GIRL… She can speak for herself!
“My name, Lisabetta Buti was an affront to my existence. I was Leonardo da Vinci’s beloved kid-sister, his assistant and apprentice, and the mother he was denied. We were born six-years-apart, as close as twins, and when I was old enough to walk, my brother made me a promise that we would never be parted.
And so it transpired, in the particularly vexing season of 1503, while forced to paint the dreary wife of a silk merchant, Leonardo was overcome, as in his early years, by a new quest. And with all due haste, circumstances conspired that he was able to complete the Giocondo commission, and I was cajoled into posing for a new kind of portrait. But here, my identity crisis sprouted wings because both our names were Lisa.
It was the sort of portrait only a visionary would attempt. Leonardo believed he could capture the true essence of a human spirit in paint.
Not long afterwards, Leonardo kept his promise, for we remained inseparable even after my death, and I traveled with him as his sentient companion to the end of his days – a living icon painted on a small panel of poplar wood.
And as time progressed, a further humiliation was heaped upon my portrait by the title ‘Gioconda’ – one misspelled word is all it takes to confound history.” – Lisabetta (Lisa da Vinci)
SMILE AND THE WORLD SMILES WITH YOU… OR DOES IT?
book one of four: ‘LISABETTA – a stolen glance’
Veronica Knox 