What is this book called????

Question

I remember reading this book in 7th grade as part of a school assignment. The book is about a young lady who is betrothed to the duke of (milan??) but he ignores he and fools around with his mistress. She ends up becoming friends with Leonardo da Vinic while he is painting her portrait. It takes into accoung events that happened in Leonardo's life and tells it with a twist.
I think it was called the wife of________ but I'm not sure.

Please help

Answer 1

It COULD be "The Second Mrs Giaconda" by E.L. Konigsburg.

Answer 2

The book is called "The Second Mrs. Gioconda" by E.L. Konigsburg.

This is the description from Simon & Schuster: "The Mona Lisa... Why did Leonardo da Vinci lavish three years on a painting of the second wife of an unimportant merchant when all the nobles of Europe were begging for a portrait by his hand?
No one knows for sure. But this story of Leonardo, his wayward apprentice Salai, and the Duke of Milan's plain young wife, Beatrice d'Este, may hold the clue to the most famous -- and puzzling -- painting of all time."

Answer 3

I was also going to suggest "The Second Mrs. Gioconda" (note spelling). I haven't read it, but it's the only children's novel I can find that is about Leonardo da Vinci. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416906614/24680e-20

Here's a review from amazon: "E.L. Konigsburg's book The Second Mrs. Gioconda makes readers feel like they are living the life of Salai, an apprentice of Leonardo da Vinci. We see Milan through his eyes, and meet the "Master", Leonardo da Vinci, Duchess Beatrice, and Duchess Isabella. How could a streetwise, pickpocketing thief, a duchess, and a great artist have lives that have anything in common? Therein lies the reason that the Mona Lisa was painted.

The Mona Lisa... who was she? And why did Da Vinci paint her rather than the dukes, duchesses, kings, and queens, who were willing to pay anything for him to paint them? Why was there never a portrait done of Duke Ludovico Sforza's wife, Beatrice d'Este? Questions like these encircle the haunting, secretive smile of the Mona Lisa.

Readers see Salai's world of Renaissance Milan, Italy through his eyes. His sarcastic and sharp, regardless and disrespective comments to authority add humor to this historically accurate book. Readers are at first introduced to Salai as a theif and a liar, but cannot dislike him, as they are plunged into his story from the first page. He meets Da Vinci because of his thievery, and Duchess Beatrice because of his mischeif.

What does Leonardo Da Vinci, the greatest artist of his time, soee in Salai, a sarcastic, mischievous thief? Why does he need mischief in his studio where great works are created, and why does he need a messy apprentice when his work has to be so perfect that not a speck of paint may be out of place? Why does he need Salai?

Duchess Beatrice d'Este Sforza, fiancee of Duke Ludovico Sforza, wealthy, but by no means beautiful on the outside, but with a kind of inner beauty that can make invisible what she looks like... why is a mischievous young boy so important to her? Why does she spend her days with Salai, and not with her fiancee? And how does she meet Da Vinci? What does the great mind of Da Vinci teach to the Duchess of Milan? And what does the mind of a young boy teach her? What does she learn that makes her beautiful? How does the Duke find in her something to love? The answer is in her mischievous, lying friend, Salai.

Duchess Isabella, the outwardly beautiful sister of Duchess Beatrice, thinks that the world is at her service. "Isabellasays" is then a fitting nickname for her. Isabella is a condescending, scowling, spoiled duchess on the inside, no matter how beautiful on the outside. She asks Da Vinci to paint her portrait, and expects him to put it before all of his other tasks. Leonardo da Vinci drew her sketch, and she expected him to paint the portrait soon after. Salai needs a way to show that this request will not be fulfilled. He finds it in the Mona Lisa.

How can such different lives entertwine? And how can the result of their friendship be so significant as to last hundreds of years? This book shows how the lasting results of friendship can mean a difference to the world. The Mona Lisa is a perfect example of the lasting effects of friendship.

Konigsburg's incredible insight and speculation makes this probably the only book that could show how a merchant's second wife could be the answer to what two people need. This is an intriguing answer to the puzzle of the Mona Lisa, and how the link between the painting and the lives of Da Vinci, Salai, and Duchess Beatrice lies in the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa."

Answer 4

I read The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg a few months ago, and it was just what you described, so I'll second the first answer.