<p>Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” is believed to depict Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine silk merchant. Every year, millions of visitors jostle for a view at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting, protected by a thick layer of glass that must be cleaned regularly, has never been restored.</p>
<p><i>From "<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/leonardo-da-vinci-artistic-brilliance-endures-500-years-after-death">Why Leonardo da Vinci’s brilliance endures, 500 years after his death</a>," May 2019</i></p>
Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” is believed to depict Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine silk merchant. Every year, millions of visitors jostle for a view at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting, protected by a thick layer of glass that must be cleaned regularly, has never been restored.
In the last six months National Geographic has published hundreds of photographs in print and online. Here are our photo editors’ favorites.
ByCatherine Zuckerman
Curated byWhitney Johnson
Published July 2, 2019
What makes—or breaks—a good photograph? Halfway through 2019, our Vice President of Visual and Immersive Experiences, Whitney Johnson, asked National Geographic’s photo editors to take stock of what they’ve published so far this year and to choose their favorites. Here are 50 images that depict love and pain—as well as bravery and resilience—across the world.
What the end of the war in Afghanistan means to one family
A year after U.S. troops pulled out of its longest war, National Geographic revisits an Afghan mother featured on the cover and her family’s experience offers a glimpse of life under Taliban rule.
