SS95 Jean Paul Gaultier ‘Mona Lisa’ Mesh Tattoo Longsleeve Shirt

In the Spring of 1995, French designer Jean Paul Gaultier would reference Leonardo DaVinci’s famed portrait of ‘Mona Lisa’. Crafting a series of skin-fitting tops, the creative would adorn her face on a mesh textile, making for a variety of grail-worthily longsleeves. The painting was originally crafted at the grips of DaVinci between 1503-1519, and retains a vastly storied history of theft and fame. Originally, the work was owned by French royalty, but was liberated by Revolutionary forces and briefly hung in Napoleon’s bedroom, before being stored at the Louvre. Most famed for Leonardo DaVinci’s acute understanding of human anatomy, blending, and an unusual 3/4 pose, Lisa is seen in rather conservative wear, smirking ever so softly in the presence of her piercing eyes. Using irregular brushstrokes to imitate the texture of skin, the Mona Lisa incorporates a combination of incredibly intricate techniques and shadowing, as she gazes past the foreground. Having been stolen from the Louvre in 1911, attempted to be cut with a razor blade in the early 50s, doused in acid and damaged with a shard of glass on two separate occasions in ‘56, sprayed with red paint in ‘74, hit with a teacup in ‘09 and most recently, pathetically failed to have been doused in pie, the Mona Lisa only continued to garner mass infamy. Having been insured for an $100 million evaluation in 1962, a comparable $970 million in 2023, the painting stands as the most expensive and well known work of physical art to have ever been created.

 

Debuting in the Spring of 1995, this longsleeve depicts the celebrated Mona Lisa atop Gaultier’s skin-fitting silhouette. Encasing both the front, back and sleeves, Lisa’s portrait stretches from the collar to bottom hem, in an entirely mesh textile. Finalized with the designer’s signature tab on the underside, this longsleeve is tagged as a size medium, in pristine condition throughout.