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Introduction
Paintings are one of the oldest forms of art. It is a known fact that before photography, radio or motion pictures that led to the invention of the television and today’s new technology emphasized by the internet, paintings dominated the creativity and social centre of art. Painting is the transfer of mental pictures onto canvas, so that these images can be shared with the rest of the world (Kalogridis, 2011). Like other forms of art like music and dance, painting needs skill, practice and is most needing in terms of patience. However, paintings share a deeper message that other forms of art seem to miss out due to their self explanatory nature and deep hidden messages (Leonardo, 2010).
The Mona Lisa Painting
The Mona Lisa is one such painting that has centuries to its existence yet remains a household name and a portrait to marvel about worldwide. The artist behind the drawing of the Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci who despite being a brilliant painter had a series of other talents such as engineering, architect, craftsman and even a botanist. Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian who lived in Florence at the time of his drawing this magnificent portrait which for a long time preferred to keep to himself showing that he had some sentimental attachment to it (Sassoon & Leonardo, 2006). The Mona Lisa is an oil painting with an ancient oak wood frame, what is most intriguing about it are the feature in its composition such as the strokes that bring out various colors and the pyramids behind the main subject of the drawing which is a woman seated upright with her hands held together. Leonardo worked on this piece of painting between the years 1503-1506 but was fully completed in 1519. Today, the Mona Lisa is found in France Musee de Louvre museum in Paris (Kalogridis, 2011).
The Mona Lisa painting depicts a woman who is cool and collected, upright and staring right at her painter with a smile. The woman in the drawing is thought to be Francesco Giaconda’s wife, Lisa Giaconda (Leonardo, 2010). What I like about the picture is the story that this woman and the painter were supposed lovers a factor that enhanced her composure and relaxed nature. Also there is the issue of the smile that tells an instinctive story to the observer that the painter and the woman know something that other doesn’t a form of secret (Leonardo, 2010). Interestingly while the woman uses body language to intensify the meaning behind her portrait, the painter does a remarkable job using fine strokes that show care, passion mastery and concentration.
What I like about the Mona Lisa Painting
What captures the audience most in this composition is the light usage where light is behind and evenly distributed to the subject, showing an investment of time by the painter and a factor that draws me even closer to this portrait (Sassoon & Leonardo, 2006). Being a student of art, I look up to such renascence painting as a guide to my own paintings and it was as a result of my artistic passions that my parents who are very supportive of my talent joined me on a trip to France just to see the Mona Lisa first hand (Kalogridis, 2011). Weirdly, I spent nearly half an hour just gazing at this average size portrait that till today its vividness keeps replaying in my mind and speaks to me the meaning of the phrase, ‘ a picture is worth a million words.’
Why the Mona Lisa is Famous
There are a series of reasons that make the Mona Lisa famous. The first of these reasons is its painter who is an historical icon in a series of fields from Music, engineering, arts among others (Leonardo, 2010). Then there is the issue of a secret showed y the expression of the woman in this painting that creates a gaze and sense of wonder to the audience as to what exactly is going on n her background and through her mind at the time of the painting. Environmentally, there is an illusion that is has pyramids in the back, and how gracefully the sun falls on the woman’s hands, all which create a sense of fascination (Sassoon & Leonardo, 2006).
The Mona Lisa story does not end with the portrait as over the years, poets have written a series of poems attributing them to her while lyrics, plays and films have also been performed with the name ‘Mona Lisa’ or in attempt to tell of the story of the Leonardo da Vinci painting. Interestingly, there was even a point in time that beauty was perceived from the eyes of this drawing and the woman drawn in the painting iconized as the face of true beauty (Leonardo, 2010).
An intriguing turn in this portraits history is in the 1911 stealing where it was ripped out of its frame and the man found responsible later though guilty of theft understood in that his actions were based more on admiration and need to learn from the painting than they were t spite the France government that owns this portrait (Kalogridis, 2011). This painting even demarcates a thin line between evil and good and contributes largely to the fame of the Mona Lisa. As expected, this painting has the highest number of forgeries , some really good that could nearly deceive and have deceived. There was a time when the debate in the art world was determining the original master-copy of the Mona Lisa and setting it apart from all other copies. This is another factor that taps to the list of fame for the Mona Lisa (Sassoon & Leonardo, 2006).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Mona Lisa is a painting that every art student knows well and one that has a lot to borrow from the creation of a bond between a creator and the creation, artistic composition, color merging and most importantly, the use of art metaphorically to portray a hidden message. Nobody can clearly pin point the thoughts that ran through Leonardo da Vinci while he did this painting, but at the same time nobody can dispute the fact that this man was a pure genius in every filed he participated and that it was evident that there is a lot that can be borrowed from his work which is purely incredible.
Work cited
Kalogridis, J. (2011). Painting Mona Lisa. London: HarperCollins.
Leonardo, . (2010). Mona Lisa: Inside the painting. New York: Abrams.
McCarthy, M. (2006). Steal back the Mona Lisa!. Orlando: Harcourt.
Sassoon, D., & Leonardo, . (2006). Leonardo and the Mona Lisa story: The history of a painting told in pictures. New York: Overlook Duckworth/Madison Press.
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