The Mona Lisa is, in the words of one critic, "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world." It's hard to argue with that, but how much do you really know about this unmistakable masterpiece?

Actually, there's at least four different versions painted by Leonardo da Vinci and his students. But the one we all know and love is at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The others can be found at the Prado Museum and in numerous private collections.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mona Lisa was actually relatively unknown. Until 1911, that is, when it was stolen from the Louvre. The high profile theft, and the appeals for its return, ironically helped publicise and popularise the painting.

The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire came under suspicion and was arrested and imprisoned. Apollinaire implicated his friend Pablo Picasso, who was brought in for questioning. Thankfully, the pair were soon cleared of all charges.

How much is the Mona Lisa worth? Well, it's recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as having the most expensive insurance policy in history, valued at $100 million in 1962, equivalent to $650 million in 2018. But, as the French aren't selling, it's literally priceless.

The painting depicts a woman sat in front of a mountainous landscape. Some have claimed the towering mountains show the influence of chinese artists, but it's thought by most to be the Val di Chiana, a valley in Tuscany.

If you look closely, you can see she's actually wearing a veil. Bruno Mottin, an expert at the Louvre, believes this is a guarnello, which was traditionally used by women while pregnant or just after giving birth.

Grab your brushes and your beach towel, it's time to take an arty trip to the shore! Scroll on to discover some of art history's best beaches, then step through the frame with Street View and use the arrows to explore!

Winslow Homer was one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America. He specialised in seaside subjects, and often painted scenes from his own vacations: from hardy fisherman out at sea to lazy days on East Hampton Beach, Long Island.

The long, flat expanse of sand makes it one of the best beaches in the whole country. And it's no surprise that East Hampton has long attracted artists and elites looking to get away from it all.

Joaquín Sorolla's summers were most often spent at the coast, and he became a painter of the new bourgeois fashion of visiting the seaside. This canvas, painted during the summer of 1910 on the beach at Zarautz, Spain, shows the whole Sorolla family relaxing under an awning.

Zarautz beach lies on the northern coast of Gipuzkoa, Spain. It received royal approval in 19th Century when Queen Isabella II of Spain made Zarautz her summer getaway. Since then, this 2.5km stretch of golden sand been known as the 'Queen of Beaches'.

Sorolla also painted scenes typical of daily life, such as this painting of a fisherwomen with her son. She seems to be waiting for someone, looking outside the painting and shading her eyes from the sun's dazzling glare.

While fisherman no longer land their boats here, the sun still shines over Valencia. Today you're more likely to find tourists sunning themselves under the palm trees and on the fine sands of Malvarrosa Beach.

Paul Signac was highly enthusiastic about the atmosphere and light in Cassis, a small fishing village on the coast of southern France. In a letter to Vincent van Gogh, Signac wrote of, 'white, blue, orange, harmonically dispersed in pretty undulations.'

This is the same view today. The ancient town of Cassis remains a popular resort for people across Europe, the coast is famous for its rugged cliffs and hidden inlets, and the town for is renowned for its white and rosé wines.

After a dinner party at artist Peder Severin Krøyer's house in 1892, Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer went for a walk together along the beach, to enjoy the 'blue hour' of the summer's evening - when the sky and sea seem to merge. The next year, Krøyer recreated that scene in paint.

Skagen is the northernmost town in the country, and its port remains busy to this day, bringing in tons of herring as well as tourists. The dunes of the southern beach, or Sonderstrand, are a haven for wildlife, and make the perfect spot for an evening wander.