Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered | Mechanics' Institute

You are here

Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered
An evening with author Dianne Hales

book cover of mona lisa a life discovered

When new findings identified Leonardo’s model as Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, award winning author Diane Hales was intrigued and set out to reconstruct Lisa’s life, taking a journey throughout Italy--to archives and libraries, piazze and palazzi, abandoned chapels, and fairytale castles. Hales’s Italian knighthood (granted for her previous book La Bella Lingua) gave her unfettered access to archives and experts, including Lisa’s last living descendants. The result of her extensive research is a blend of biography, history, and memoir that introduces us an enigmatic woman who lived during Florence’s golden age.

Dianne Hales is an award-winning author who has served as a contributing editor for Parade, Ladies Home Journal, Working Mother and American Health, and has written for numerous national publications including Glamour, the New York Times, Psychology Today, the Washington Post, among other well-known publications. Her books include La Bella Lingua, Just Like a Woman and Caring for the Mind. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.

Co-sponsored by Humanities West and Leonardo da Vinci Society

Meet the Author(s)

Admission: 
Members of Mechanics' Institute Free
Members of Humanities West Free
Members of Leonardo da Vinci Society Free
Public $15
Register now ›
Location: 
4th Floor Meeting Room
Questions?
Information Desk - 415-393-0102
Register now by using the form below or calling 415-393-0101.

Future Meet the Author(s)

Mar 28 - 6:00 pm

Discussions on Democracy: Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss
with author and political theorist Juliet Hooker

Apr 4 - 6:30 pm

Celebrating National Poetry Month
with California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, and Oakland's Inaugural Poet Laureate Ayodele Nzinga at Mechanics' Institute.

Apr 11 - 7:00 pm

Music at Mechanics': Rebecca Rust & Friedrich Edelmann
renowned cellist and bassoonist duo performs at Mechanics' Institute

Apr 18 - 6:00 pm

Earth Day Panel: Innovators Creating Sustainable Communities
with Quinlin Messenger, Kirstin Weeks, Dustin Mulvaney, and Karen Topakian

Apr 20 - 1:00 pm

Humans Who Teach
with Shamari Reid, professor and author

Apr 29 - 6:00 pm

No Poetry No Peace™
A Reading and Celebration of Human Poetic Expression, hosted by Sheryl J. Bize Boutte.