<P> The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini , the wife of Francesco del Giocondo , and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel . It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506 ; however , Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517 . Recent academic work suggests that it would not have been started before 1513 . It was acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic , on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797 . </P>
where can the mona lisa be found today
Louvre Museum in Paris