There is a woman who is more famous and renowned than any celebrity in the entire world; we are talking about Mona Lisa.Wife of Francesco del Giocondo, La Gioconda, is the woman widely known as Mona Lisa. The painting in discussion is a 30.3 x 20.9 in (77 x 53 cm) oil painting on wood.It is exhibited in the Louvre in Paris, France, and possessed by the Government of France. The bewitching and distant expression portrayed by Mona Lisa has gained its Universal recognition.The way ermine portrays Cecilia Gallerani in Krakow and the juniper branchlets portray Ginevra Benci in Washington is similar to how the mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa represents the sitter. This smile, known as the Mona Lisa effect, illustrates the concept of joy and delight, which is implied by the Italian word ‘Gioconda.’ The conception of using this enigmatic smile as the central motif for this portrait ended up categorizing it as an ideal work of art.The details shown in the landscape play an important role in the illustration of this painting. The bridge and the winding road characterize the shift from the sitter’s surroundings off to the area far away. The land in the distance seems doubtful for human living, while on the other hand, the area around the sitter’s chest is painted with warm tones to represent human inhabitants.What is the Mona Lisa?The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting, a famous work (famous artwork), of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. The picture was moved to a new place within the Louvre museum(a French museum) at Salle des États on April 6, 2005, after a period of curatorial upkeep, recording, and analysis. It is housed behind bulletproof glass in a custom-built, climate-controlled box.An LED bulb has been used to illuminate this most famous painting since 2005, and in 2013, a new 20 watt LED lamp was installed specifically for this piece. The lamp has a careful Rendering color Index of up to 98 and reduces infrared and ultraviolet light, which can harm the painting. In 2014, a France article speculated that the painting could be sold to help pay off the country’s debt, even though the Mona Lisa and other works of art are prohibited from being sold under French cultural heritage law.Lisa del Giocondo was the wife of wealthy Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo and a member of the Gherardini dynasty of Florence and Tuscany. The picture is supposed to have been commissioned for their new house and commemorates the birth of their second son. The Italian name of the painting, La Gioconda, means ‘jocund’ or, literally, ’the jocund one,’ and is a play on Lisa’s marital name, Giocondo. The term La Joconde has the same meaning in French, and hence the title was used.Lisa’s hands were in detail, with her right hand resting on her left. Leonardo selected this gesture over a wedding ring to show Lisa as a virtuous and enigmatic woman and loving wife. The Mona Lisa is strikingly similar to numerous Renaissance portrayals of the Virgin Mary, who was viewed as a model for womanhood at the period. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective, and the work was one of the first portraits to represent the sitter in front of an artificial landscape.The mysterious woman looks to be seated in an open loggia with black pillar bases on either side. A vast countryside recedes behind her, giving way to cold mountains. The only traces of human existence are winding trails and a distant bridge. Leonardo has opted to set the horizon line on a level with the eyes, rather than at the neck, as he did with Ginevra de’ Benci, thus integrating the figure with the environment and accentuating the mysterious aspect painting. Vasari’s description of the Mona Lisa is based on his biography of Leonardo da Vinci, which was published 31 years after the artist’s death in 1550. It has long been the most well-known source of information on the work’s provenance and sitter’s identity.Sala, Leonardo’s helper, held a picture named la Gioconda, a painting handed to him by Leonardo at the time of his death in 1524. After the French Revolution, the picture was brought to the Louvre, but it spent a brief time in Napoleon’s Tuileries Palace bedroom. Outside of the art world, the Mona Lisa was hardly known, but in the 1860s, a segment of the French intellectuals praised it as a Renaissance masterpiece. The agreement among art historians in the 21st century is that the painting shows Lisa del Giocondo, as has long been assumed.After reading about the mysterious Mona Lisa, an Italian art piece, also check out the articles on Two Mona Lisa and facts about Pablo Picasso.Fun Facts About Mona LisaLeonardo da Vinci first used the concept of aerial perspective. The Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa painting was the first portrait to depict sitting with a fantasized landscape. Da Vinci began working on Mona Lisa in native Italy but finished it once he moved to France because of the request of King Francois I. Mona Lisa remained in Fontainebleau palace for about a century instead of an Italian museum.The Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa painting was removed from the Grand Palace of Versailles by Louis XIV, and it was held in Napoleon Bonaparte’s boudoir in the 19th century. The Mona Lisa painting is thought to be a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. In the Louvre Museum, Paris, Mona Lisa has an entire room for herself. This room has a shatter-proof glass display accompanied by a glass ceiling. This masterpiece was painted not on a canvas but a poplar plank. During an investigation regarding the theft of the Mona Lisa, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested, and Pablo Picasso was a suspect. Mona Lisa has been allotted a personal mailbox. Many flowers and love letters have arrived from admirers of the Mona Lisa since it was first hung at the Louvre in 1815. As per the French heritage law, Mona Lisa could neither be sold nor bought by anyone.Interesting Facts About Mona LisaThe woman’s real name in the painting is not Mona Lisa but Lisa Gherardini. In Italian, ‘Mona Lisa/Monna Lisa’ means ‘My Lady Lisa.’ She is among the many unfinished words of da Vinci which were left to his assistant after he passed away in 1519.At the request of Jackie Kennedy, Mona Lisa was showcased in the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts in New York City and the Nation Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., with the permission of French President de Gaulle. The painting came back to the Louvre after two years. During her lifetime, Mona Lisa underwent many attacks from vandals. In 1956, one vandal threw a rock at her, and in another attack, a vandal threw acid on this masterpiece. After being placed in bulletproof glass, it was saved from a coffee cup attack in 2009 and spray paint in 1974. According to Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Margaret Livingstone, Mona Lisa’s smile tends to change people’s mindset based on how one focuses on her and the brain’s responses.Books About The Mona Lisa’I, Mona Lisa’ written by Jeanne Kalogridis, is a historical novel about Lisa Gherardini. She was the muse for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa. The story weaves a web of loss, betrayal, and love. It gradually tries to unwind the enigmas of da Vinci’s masterpiece.The Smile (2008), written by Donna Jo Napoli, is a YA novel containing daily events of Monna Elisabetta, commonly known as Mona Lisa. It is set during Renaissance Florence, and it ends at the point she poses as a muse for da Vinci. E.L. Konigsburg wrote the Second Mrs. Gaiconda/The Second Mrs. Goiconda as a historical fiction set in Milan, Italy, narrated in the third person. The novel dives into the locale of the muse. The Private Life of Mona Lisa (1975) by Pierre La Mure describes the happenings of Lisa Gherardini and Leonardo’s life that assembles within the portrait. The da Vinci Code (2003) is a mystery thriller. Mona Lisa plays a crucial role in the underlying plot of this piece written by Dan Brown.Poems About Mona LisaMona Lisa has been an inspiration and fascination for many writers and artists. Some of the poems describing her are:Mona Lisa’s Smile by Marilyn Lott: The poem’s title is self-describing.Mona Lisa by Mary Gardiner Horsford: Describes how Leonardo ended up spending four years trying to find ways to portray the fair Florentine.La Gioconda by Michael Field: This aphoristic poem is among the most famous pieces about Mona Lisa. It was written by Edith Cooper (1862-1913) and Katharine Bradley (1846-1914) under the pen name of Michael Field. The poem skillfully ablaze the same enigma as the portrait itself. The use of exotic words such as ’luster’ adds to the subject’s beauty, mystery, and darkness. There is sadistic and masochistic cruelty depicted from the manner in which the woman rests her hand. This posture implies ‘patience.‘Leonardo Da Vinci’s Words About Mona LisaLeonardo da Vinci was known to be a Renaissance artist and a polymath. He painted numerous iconic masterpieces during his lifetime. Mona Lisa was among these masterpieces. It took Vinci a myriad of years to paint the Mona Lisa, yet it remains unfinished. The work on Mona Lisa began in the 1500s.The painting is from an aerial perspective. She was the first portrait to be painted using this technique. The backdrop of the painting is a far distant landscape with the mysterious woman with a similarly mysterious smile portrayed in the center. There are shadowed pillars on both sides of the woman, and she seems to be resting in an open loggia. The winding and bridge transition leads to the inhabitable icy mountains. With the help of sfumato, da Vinci creates vibrations that travel across the imaginary streams and valleys using luscious strokes in the subject’s clothing and her hair.Da Vinci plays gracefully with the light and shadows to create an atmosphere of solitude. It is these characteristics that made Mona Lisa to be recognized as a dateless portrait representing an ideal woman. Her famous subtle smile is like an invisible bridge between mother nature and humanity. The Mona Lisa is an alive poetic riddle with a soul that roams the surroundings yet is unapproachable.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for About Mona Lisa, then why not take a look at Australian painted lady, or why do painters wear white?
There is a woman who is more famous and renowned than any celebrity in the entire world; we are talking about Mona Lisa.
