There has been much speculation and debate regarding the identity of the Mona Lisa’s sitter. Scholars and historians have posited numerous possibilities, including that she is Lisa del Giocondo (née Gherardini), wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo—hence the alternative title to the work, La Gioconda. That identity was first suggested in 1550 by artist biographer Giorgio Vasari.