e fine
pictures at this time; among them were the "Adoration of the Kings," now
in the Uffizi Gallery, and a portrait of Ginevra Benci, also in the same
gallery. This lady must have been very beautiful; Ghirlandajo introduced
her portrait into two of his frescoes.

But the most remarkable portrait was that known as Mona Lisa del Giocondo,
which is in the Louvre, and is called by some critics the finest work of
this master. The lady was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a lovely
woman, and some suppose that she was very dear to Leonardo. He worked upon
it for four years, and still thought it unfinished: the face has a deep,
thoughtful expression--the eyelids are a little weary, perhaps, and
through it all there is a suggestion of something not quite understood--a
mystery: the hands are graceful and of perfect form, and the rocky
background gives an unusual fascination to the whole picture. Leonardo
must have loved the picture himself, and it is not strange that he
lavished more time upon it than he gave to the great picture of the Last
Supper (Fig. 37).

Leonardo sold this picture to Francis I. for nine thousand dollars, which
was then an enormous sum, though now one could scarcely fix a price upon
it. In 1860 the Emperor of Russia paid twelve thousand dollars for a St.
Sebastian by Leonardo, and in 1865 a madonna by him was sold in Paris for
about sixteen thousand dollars. Of course his pictures are rarely sold;
but, when they are, great sums are given for them.

In 1502 Caesar Borgia appointed Leonardo his engineer and sent him to
travel through Central Italy to inspect his fortresses; but this usurper
soon fled to Spain, and in 1503 our painter was again in Florence. In 1504
his father died. From 1507 to 1512 Leonardo was at the summit of his
greatness. Louis XII. appointed him his painter, and he labored for this
monarch also to improve the water-works of Milan. For seven years he dwelt
at Milan, making frequent journeys to Florence. But the political troubles
of the time made Lombardy an uncongenial home for any artist, and
Leonardo, with a few pupils, went to Florence and then on to Rome. Pope
Leo X. received him cordially enough, and told him to "work for the glory
of God, Italy, Leo X., and Leonardo da Vinci." But Leonardo was not happy
in Rome, where Michael Angelo and Raphael were in great favor, and when
Francis I. made his successes in Italy in 1515, Leonardo hastened to
Lombardy to meet him. The new king