Isabella of Naples

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(Not to be confused with Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France.)

Isabella of Aragon, princess of Naples

Isabella di Aragona (October 2 1470 – February 11 1524) was born a princess of Naples, granddaughter of King Ferdinand I of Naples and daughter of King Alphonse II of Naples. From 1489 to 1494 she was the Duchess Consort of Milan, and from 1499 to 1524 the Duchess of Bari and Princess of Rossano. After her brothers death she was the heir of the Brienne claim to the title King of Jerusalem. Some argue that Isabella is the model for Leonardo da Vinci's immortal painting the Mona Lisa, and that she and da Vinci were married.

She married her first cousin Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan. They had one son and two daughters:

*Francesco Sforza "il Duchetto", Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1512, Count of Pavia from 1491 to 1499, and Abbot of Marmoutier in 1505;

*Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, Grand Duchess of Lithuania, and second wife of King Sigismund I of Poland; and

*Ippolita Maria, who died in 1501 at the age of 7.

Isabella also outlived Francesco, who was killed in 1512 by falling from his horse. Of her three children, only Bona survived her.

Some also say that she had a a clandestine and morganatic marriage with Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). By her second husband Leonardo da Vinci: 2 sons and 3 daughters.

As for the Mona Lisa controversy, [Maike Vogt-Lüerssen] argues that the woman behind the famous smile is Isabella of Aragon, the Duchess of Milan. Leonardo was the court painter for the Duke of Milan for 11 years. The pattern on Mona Lisa's dark green dress, Vogt-Lüerssen believes, indicates that she is a member of the house of Sforza. Her theory is that the Mona Lisa was the first official portrait of the new Duchess of Milan, which requires that it was painted in spring or summer 1489 (and not 1503).

References

Footnotes

External links

[Isabella of Aragon] at [Mona Lisa and her Family]
[Bust of Isabella di Aragona] by Laurana Francesco at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

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