What Tom Holland has said about Identity of the Mona Lisa sitter

3 quotes · 1 episode · May 6, 2026

Tom Holland, English actor cast as Telemachus, has been quoted on Identity of the Mona Lisa sitter 3 times in 1 episode of The Rest Is History, most recently on May 6, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.

In their words

Holland argues that the painting's fame incentivises art historians to advance outlandish theories because they are guaranteed press coverage.
“if you come up with a new theory about the Mona Lisa, you'll immediately get it into the newspapers”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 14:41
Holland judges that the marriage of Lisa Gherardini and Francesco del Giocondo, though mercenary in origin, was relatively successful.
“although the context for the marriage is a mercenary one, it seems to have been a relatively successful marriage”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 29:45
Holland likens alternative sitter theories to doubts over Shakespeare's authorship.
“there is a slight quality of people not wanting to believe that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare's plays”
The Rest Is History: 667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (May 6, 2026) · Listen from 35:07

667. The Mystery of the Mona Lisa
The Rest Is History · May 6, 2026 · 1 h 10 min
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the Mona Lisa's origins, the debate over its sitter, and how it became the world's most famous painting.