Why is the mona lisa important
Mona Lisa - Why so Famous?
the Mona Lisa is widely considered to be
the greatest portrait of all time it
appears in countless advertisements has
inspired poetry sculpture forgeries and
theft but seriously why the painting is
small only 30 by 21 inches the color is
somber the background seems desolate and
eerie and the subject isn't anyone
historically significant so what's all
the brouhaha about is it really all
about her mystifying gaze and a quirky
smile well let's take a closer look da
Vinci's greatest innovation here is the
relaxed and informal 3/4 pose of the
subject although Mona Lisa's pose may
seem commonplace and almost trivial
today it was revolutionary in the early
16th century prior portraits were stiff
and contrived and mainly consisted of
profiles this pose established a new
style of portrait painting that is still
the de facto standard today over 500
years later the pyramidal composition of
the portrait is also a DaVinci
innovation notice the wide base of the
painting which appears heavier than the
top Mona Lisa's hands form the front
corner of the pyramid your eye is drawn
to the top of the painting in that
infamous enigmatic smile furthermore
most portraits of the time were
full-length da Vinci's more intimate
cropping was immediately imitated by
masters such as Raphael soir motto is
Italian for blended with connotations of
smoky Leonardo coined the term to
explain his technique of layering
translucent layers of color to create
the appearance of depth volume and form
the blending of colors become so subtle
that the gradations are hardly
perceptible the area around her eyes as
well as her hair and her scarf have a
semi translucent smoky feel but give the
painting a sense of movement the
technique is also used in the background
to create a sense of harmony between the
sitter and the landscape keep in mind
that this was a completely new technique
that added a sense of realism that was
utterly unparalleled in its time
Leonardo's love of rocky landscapes as
seen in several of his paintings of note
here is how the two landscapes on either
side of Mona Lisa's head are a physical
impossibility the landscape on the left
is noticeably lower than the landscape
on the right this is also one of the
first portraits to use an imaginary
landscape lastly the fact that the
background becomes hazy er and more
out-of-focus as distance increases was a
major breakthrough that added to the
realism of the painting paintings of
this time created equal levels of detail
in the foreground and background most
experts agree that overzealous cleaning
removed the eyebrows which were added
after the paint dried regardless poor
cleaning techniques definitely caused
the greenish hue of her skin tone
however Leonardo was known for more
somber color palettes than his
contemporaries da Vinci's extensive
anatomical dissection zuv over 30
cadavers led to his incredibly accurate
depiction of these delicate and
beautiful hands
these half circular forms are the basis
of pillars on either side of an open
lagea copied sketches by Raphael proved
that part of the painting was lost when
it was removed from its original frame
who is she
experts disagree but she is most likely
Madonna
Lisa D Antonio Maria Gherardini wife of
wealthy Florentine Francesco del
Giocondo who commissioned the painting
in 1503
da Vinci probably never finished the
commission as parts of the painting were
likely painted as late as 1510 like many
great portrait painters he probably
walked a fine line between accurate
representation and flattery perhaps he
then began to infuse his own views of
ideal Beauty into the subject
Leonardo never finished the Commission
and it is said that he traveled with the
painting in order to show off his
talents
scientists cannot agree as to why Mona
Lisa's smile is interpreted so
differently by different people theories
range from the nature of human vision to
Sigmund Freud's interpretation of the
smile signifying Leonardo's erotic
attraction to his mother the mystery of
the smile is what makes the painting so
engaging this work introduced several
revolutionary painting techniques
displayed a supreme mastery of technique
by its artists and continues to inspire
intrigue in many who view it it is safe
to say that Leonardo's masterpiece will
likely remain as one of the greatest
portraits of all time
