Leonardo Da Vinci

La Joconde

With many names, Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo is vey well known. The painting itself is really not that great of a painting. The story is what makes it famous. People are not famous merely because they say they are; but rather because they have undergone a dramatic change, or have had or done something to another or them self. Madona (Mona) was kidnapped in 1911, when she was stolen from the Salon Carré (square living room) in the Louvre, being rediscovered in a hotel in Florence two years later. Today the Mona Lisa remains in the Louvre, and is considered to be priceless. The restoration of the painting is very controversial due to the fact that the painting might not look the same as the painting that everybody has know for many years now. Ever since the paiting was done there have been many copies with of it with various characters in place of the original paintings face and hands.

Madona was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. The multi-skilled artist and mathematician. Da Vinci wa popularized by the 2006 movie The Da Vinci Code which was based off the book by Dan Brown.

Personally I would not say that the painting is very great, from an artist perspective the painting is not the best work. Indeed Da Vinci does have better work.

"This figure of a woman, dressed in the Florentine fashion of her day and seated in a visionary, mountainous landscape, is a remarkable instance of Leonardo's sfumato technique of soft, heavily shaded modeling. The Mona Lisa's enigmatic expression, which seems both alluring and aloof, has given the portrait universal fame." (Annoymous)

"Now in The Louvre, Paris; The Mona Lisa was a Florentine lady whose name was Lisa. Leonardo places Mona Lisa against a mysterious ‘other worldly’ dark, rocky landscape, which enhances her mysterious, enigmatic quality. What strikes us is that she looks alive, almost as if she is looking at us, her expression, calm, yet almost sad, seems to change as we look at her. For centuries we have been captivated by the enigma of her smile and expression in her eyes. Such is Leonardo’s mastery of his own sfumato technique of subtly blurring and smudging the corners of her eyes and mouth and the amazing use of chiaroscuro around her face and hands, that she appears to glow mysteriously out of the shadows. Leonardo marvelled his contemporaries with this beautiful, unsettling painting. Today we are still enthralled. It is not surprising that this painting is the most famous and most copied image in the world, inspiring and baffling artists across the centuries. Leonardo’s genius and place in history in the world of Renaissance Art and science is unparalleled, making him a true Renaissance Man, no words can do him justice." (Lorraine G Huber)