Geologist and art historian claims to know where the Mona Lisa was painted

Could her dual knowledge allow her to solve this long-standing mystery?

Art historians have debated many aspects of what is perhaps the most famous painting in the world for centuries . Who was the model? What does her smile mean? Is the background imaginary or does it depict a specific location? If so, what kind of landscape is shown?

Now the researcher has come up with a proposal for the latter question, which is supported by her two areas of expertise. Ann Pizzorusso has degrees in art historian and geologist, and she claims that the rock formations in the painting exactly match those in the area of the small town of Lecco, located on the shores of Lake Como in the Lombardi region of northern Italy.

“I am very pleased that I was able to shed light on Leonardo’s achievements as a geologist,” Pizzorusso writes in an email. “He had great respect for nature and depicted it accurately in every painting. For him, unlike other artists, the landscape was as important as the figures.”

Pizzorusso claims to have identified not one, not two, but three features in the painting and tied them to the area. Firstly, the painting shows a pond. She claims that this is Lake Garlate, which Leonardo is known to have visited. Secondly, this is the Azzone Visconti bridge from the 14th century. But thirdly, and most importantly, there are rock formations in the Alps that dominate the area, which coincide very closely with some rock formations behind the right shoulder of the sitter, Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

Some art historians believe the painting’s background is based on fantasy, while others point to specific locations, such as the town of Bobbio or the province of Arrezzo, but these arguments are based only on the bridge and road, Pizzorusso notes. Moreover, none of these places have a lake like Lecco. According to her, the colors of the rock formations here also correspond to the shades that Leonardo used to depict the rocks.

A geologist and author of works on Leonardo claims to have discovered the area that served as inspiration for the background of the Mona Lisa painting.

“Everyone talks about the bridge and no one talks about the geology,” she told the Guardian, adding that art historians and geologists too rarely meet together: “Geologists don’t look at paintings and art historians don’t look at geology.”

Pizzorusso, according to her website, has worked in a variety of geological fields, including oil drilling, gemstone exploration and environmental cleanup projects. But then she fell in love with Italian Renaissance art , earned a master’s degree in the subject, and has been combining the two passions in her work ever since. Living between Italy and New York, she playfully notes that she hopes her publications have “a golden nugget of earthly information on every page.” She published several books about Leonardo alone.

No fewer than two prominent figures supported Pizzorusso’s arguments in the Guardian. Michael Daly, director of ArtWatch UK, a British non-profit organization that seeks to ensure high standards in art conservation, called her theory compelling, and Jacques Frank, who was once a consultant to the Louvre on Leonardo, said: “I don’t doubt for a second that that Pizzorusso is right in her theory.”