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The Mona Lisa may be the most famous painting in the world.
《蒙娜丽莎》可能是世界上最著名的画。
Housed in the Louvre in Paris behind bulletproof glass, it’s better-protected than some heads of state.
它被安置在巴黎卢浮宫，用防弹玻璃保护着，比一些国家元首受到的保护更好。
But… why?
但是…为什么？
The Mona Lisa was painted by the great Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519.
《蒙娜丽莎》是伟大的意大利艺术家莱昂纳多·达·芬奇在1503年至1519年间绘制的。
It spent some time in the care of King Francis I of France and was part of France’s royal collection…that is until the French Revolution turned the royal collection into a public collection.
它曾由法国国王弗朗西斯一世保管过一段时间，是法国王室收藏品的一部分直到法国大革命将王室收藏品变成公共收藏品。
The painting eventually found its home in the Louvre -- perhaps the most famous art museum in the world - setting the stage for the strange events that would make this one of the most famous sorta-smiles in history.
这幅画最终在卢浮宫安家了，卢浮宫可能是世界上最著名的博物馆，这为奇怪的事件埋下了伏笔，这也使他成为历史上最著名的微笑之一。
The painting was highly regarded even while Leonardo was still working on it, but it wasn’t until later that it became a universal symbol of great art.
这幅画在莱昂纳多还在创作的时候就受到了高度的评价，但直到后来它才成为伟大艺术的普遍象征。
During the 19th century, interest in the Renaissance led to some… let’s say exaggerated claims about both Leonardo and his model.
在19世纪，对文艺复兴的兴趣导致了一些…我们姑且说夸大了莱昂纳多和他的画作的夸张说法。
While modern scholars tend to see Leonardo’s scientific achievements as small, his inventive designs and “mirror-writing” notes helped burnish a reputation for genius beyond that of his peers.
虽然现代学者倾向于认为莱昂纳多的科学成就微不足道，但他的创造性设计和“镜像书写”笔记帮助他赢得了超越同行的天才声誉。
Meanwhile, the identity of the Mona Lisa herself became mythologized.
与此同时，蒙娜丽莎本人的身份也被神化了。
Often thought to be Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, the lack of commission from her husband has raised doubts about the model’s identity.
人们通常认为丽莎·德尔·乔康多是佛罗伦萨一位富商的妻子，但她丈夫没有给她佣金，这让人们对这位模特的身份产生了怀疑。
Some have romanticized her as a mysterious seductress.
有些人把她浪漫化成一个神秘的妖女。
One writer even accused her of being a vampire who “has been dead many times and learned the secrets of the grave.” -- probably metaphorically, but still.
一位作家甚至指责她是一个“已经死了很多次，知道坟墓的秘密”的吸血鬼。——可能是比喻，但确实如此。
The painting’s fame was galvanized in 1911 by another mystery -- the Mona Lisa’s theft.
1911年，另一个谜案——《蒙娜丽莎》的失窃——让这幅画名声大噪。
An employee of the Louvre, Vincenzo Peruggia, along with two accomplices, stole the painting.
卢浮宫的一名雇员文森佐·佩鲁贾和两名同伙一起偷走了这幅画。
And for two years it was missing.
两年来，它一直不见踪影。
The story was a sensation, provoking a feeling among the French people that the work was a national treasure that must be recovered.
这个故事引起了轰动，在法国人民中激起了一种情绪，那就是这件作品是国宝，必须找回。
When the painting was finally found in Italy, it took a tour of that country before returning home to the Louvre in triumph.
当这幅画最终在意大利被发现时，它在意大利游历了一圈，然后凯旋而归，回到卢浮宫。
The Mona Lisa had become an icon of the art world.
《蒙娜丽莎》已经成为艺术界的标志。
But to become the universally recognized figure that it is today, something else was required -- a touch of iconoclasm.
但要成为今天这样举世公认的人物，还需要一些其他的东西--一种打破传统的东西。
Some scholars believe that, by adding a beard and moustache to the postcard featuring the painting, French artist Marcel Duchamp sealed the Mona Lisa’s place in history by using that famous smile to take a playful jab at the worship of so-called high art.
一些学者认为，法国艺术家马塞尔·杜尚在以蒙娜丽莎为特色的明信片上加上胡子，用那著名的微笑对所谓高雅艺术的崇拜进行了俏皮的抨击，从而奠定了蒙娜丽莎在历史上的地位。
By the second half of the 20th century, when the Mona Lisa toured the United States and Japan, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn’t familiar with the painting!
到了20世纪下半叶，当《蒙娜丽莎》在美国和日本巡回时，你很难找到不熟悉这幅画的人！
Today, the painting is once more safely behind glass in the Louvre, where thousands of people visit it every day.
今天，这幅画再次被安全地藏在卢浮宫的玻璃内，每天都有成千上万的人参观它。
And now you know why it’s so well-protected -- it’s been stolen before, and after all, it’s only become more priceless since.
现在你知道为什么它被保护得如此之好了--它以前被偷过，毕竟，从那以后它变得更加无价了。
