Mona Lisa and the Others

A witty introduction to the Louvre’s many masterpieces, told from the perspective of the subjects themselves – including resident superstar Mona Lisa.

Millions of people visit the Louvre Museum every year to gaze and gawp at its all-star art collection. But there’s one star who gets a lot more attention than anyone else – and her very own special queuing system, if you can believe it! Well, the Louvre’s many other masterpieces aren’t too happy about being overshadowed – and they’re here to tell everyone what makes them just as worthy of the Mona Lisa’s teeming crowds.

With a focus on portraits and other person-centred artworks, Mona Lisa and the Others reveals the stories behind some of the Louvre Museum’s most famous artworks. Napoleon Bonaparte takes readers behind the scenes at his own coronation; the Venus de Milo explains what happened to her missing arms; the Seated Scribe lets slip some gossip about the ancient Egyptian royal family; and Madame le Brun has a polite moan about juggling the demands of being Marie Antoinette’s portrait painter and a working mother. But perhaps most intriguing of all, Mona Lisa reveals that there’s more to her portrait than her mysterious smile…