Art

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The Mona Lisa painting is one of the most amazing and most eye-catching work of art that compels an individual to look in appreciation of beauty. The Mona Lisa is perhaps one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous paintings as it is well known by a majority of individuals all over the globe (Keele, 2014). The painting is most famous due to the elegant smile of a woman, to which individuals have been trying to solve for a lengthy time. A majority of the people believe that the portrait is that of Da Vinci himself while others have placed a lot of mystic connections with the painting. The painting depicts a woman’s bust with a distant landscape to which is visible in the backdrop. A pyramid design was used by Leonardo to install the woman in a simple and a calm manner within the painting. The woman in the painting is shown with her hands folded, with her face, neck and the breasts painted the same color as her hands. The light is diffused such that the various curves as well as her geometrical shapes on the painting are made to be more visible through it. It is probable that the most exciting thing about the painting is that of the woman’s smile, with many believing that it is innocent and inviting, while others believe that it is that of smugness and can be termed as a smirk. A lot of scientific studies have been conducted to determine the exact nature of the smile but the real reasons have remained to be a mystery. It is believed that each person has a different view upon seeing the smile on the portrait due to the changes of the lighting to which were presented by Leonardo. The woman is shown seated in an open area, and behind her is a vast landscape receding to an icy mountain. There are some winding paths and a bridge far away can be seen from the painting.

Through the Mona Lisa painting, Leonardo Da Vinci became the first painter to use the aerial perspective to depict a sitter before an imaginary landscape in a portrait (Shlain, 2014). The mysterious and enigmatic woman is seated in an open loggia as the painting portrays each side of the portrait containing dark pillar bases. The clothing and hair of the woman create a series of sensual curves that echoes into the rivers and the undulating valleys behind her. Leonardo is a creative painter as his calmness and style have been characterized in the paintings of graceful figures, outlines, light and dark, dramatic contrast as well as the overall feeling that is displayed by the Mona Lisa painting. Since the Mona Lisa painting does not represent a real woman but an ideal woman, a majority of the people argue that it should be considered a traditional portrait as it depicts harmony connecting and linking the nature with humanity through the faint smile. The face in the painting has no visible hair, neither eyebrows nor eyelashes and research have shown that during Mona Lisa’s time, the facial hair was considered unsightly and most genteel women used to pluck them out to conform to their societal norms.

The painting is set within a mountainous landscape that illustrates the ability of the artist to resent heavily shaded model most softly. The figure of the woman in the painting along with her expression are the most significant features of the painting. The expression of Mona Lisa has been described as being both alluring and aloof, and this is the justification of the mysteries to which surround the painting and as a result provide it with a universal frame and look (Hales, 2014). Several themes have emanated from the painting of Mona Lisa, and some of them include aesthetics as well as the philosophical thoughts. The woman in the painting has as well been described as being a soft subject that is perfectly portrayed by the artist. Besides the thematic significance of the painting, it has also been used by the advertisers to illustrate the various thoughts and arouse the desired feelings amongst the consumers.

The Mona Lisa portrait is said to have taken Da Vinci three years before its completion in 1503 (Garrard, 2018). The woman in the portrait as presented by Leonardo is said to be the wife of Francesco Del Giocondo, a famous merchant from the region of Florence and the woman in the painting is therefore inferred to be Lisa Gherardini. Nonetheless, there are debates and mysteries surrounding the painting to which have not been resolved to current times. Significantly is the fact that the painting has been significantly admired since the time of creation. The portrait has also been described as a renaissance portrait, and its fame grew at the time it was stolen in the year 1911 from Salon Carre and later retrieved from Florence. It is therefore through Mona Lisa as depicted by Leonardo that it becomes evident as to how a work of art could be so significant in the communication, engagement of the audience and as well as eliciting the various thematic concerns and feelings in a very significant manner. The painting is a fantastic piece of art, and therefore one should take a look at it so that they can appreciate the full beauty depicted by the work. The picture is with no doubt has been used to grace a majority of the magazines and objects as well as souvenirs due to its significant beauty.

References

Garrard, M. D. (2018). Leonardo da Vinci: female portraits, female nature. In The Expanding Discourse (pp. 58-85). Routledge.

Hales, D. (2014). Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered. Simon and Schuster.

Keele, K. D. (2014). Leonardo da Vinci’s Elements of the science of man. Academic Press.

Shlain, L. (2014). Leonardo’s Brain: Understanding Da Vinci’s Creative Genius. Rowman & Littlefield.