The Not so Mysterious Mona Lisa

If someone were to ask me what is one of my least favorite paintings, I would have to say Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. *gasp* WHAT??? Let me explain. I find absolutely nothing wrong with the painting itself but to be frank I’m just sick of always hearing about it. One of the common misconceptions about the painting is that we do not know the identity of the person that it depicts. Consider the title, Mona, meaning “madam,” LISA. Yes, that second part is a name. Most scholars agree that the painting is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a wealthy Florentine merchant.  Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 and worked on it for four years, but like most of his commissions the painting was never finished and the patrons never received it. In 1516 da Vinci was invited by the King of France, Francis I, to become the king’s court painter. Da Vinci took the Mona Lisa with him and the painting was still in his possession when he died in 1519. Another aspect of the painting that gets a lot of attention is that mysterious smile. That coy slightly upturned mouth, however, is actually a da Vinci trademark and he used it in several other portraits such as his painting of St. John the Baptist and his portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (see below). That smile suddenly becomes a little less unique.

 

So now you may (hopefully) be wondering what is all the hype about? That was my thought exactly when I got to see—if I could even call it that—the painting with my own eyes. There in one of the capacious galleries of the Louvre hung this tiny (its dimensions are 2’ 6” x 1’ 9”) painting barely visible through the mob of picture-snapping tourists and the blinding glare of flash reflecting off bulletproof glass. So how did the Mona Lisa become one of the most famous paintings in the world? It began on August 21, 1911 when three young men stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Once the theft was discovered there was a mass explosion of media and images of the painting could be seen everywhere in the attempt to recover the Renaissance masterpiece. Suddenly everyone was talking about this painting. Twenty-eight months later in December 1913 the painting was found when one of the thieves tried to sell it to a Florentine art dealer. Ever since, even people who claim to know almost nothing about art know and recognize the Mona Lisa. For more about the theft click on this link. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Stolen-How-the-Mona-Lisa-Became-the-Worlds-Most-Famous-Painting.html What actually makes the painting interesting, in my opinion are things that cannot be seen by the naked eye and those are the many changes that da Vinci made to the painting in his attempt to perfect it. It is believed he worked on the painting off and on up until his death. The evolution of the painting was revealed several years ago when conservationists used digital scans and infrared technology to reveal details hidden beneath the immediate surface of the painting. For more about what was uncovered click here  http://www.livescience.com/4648-25-secrets-mona-lisa-revealed.html 

So I hope that I've helped to uncover some truth about the world's most famous two-dimensional lady. I'd like to end with a quote--yes I love a good quote so expect more to come. In the words of iconic radio personality Paul Harvey, “And now you know the rest of the story.”