Unearthing the secrets- the Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is 16th century oil painting created by the renowned Leonardo Da Vinci. The work of art depicts an enigmatic woman gazing at the viewer, and it is said that if you move across the room while looking into her eyes, they’ll follow you. It is definitely one of the most popular paintings worldwide and has been the center of many artistic, religious, and theoretical debates. The French government currently owns the Mona Lisa and it is featured at the Musee Du Louvre in Paris.

The first to mention of her was by Da Vinci’s biographer - Vasari. This portrait was doubtless painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506. . He reported her physiognomy in minute detail that she was Lisa Gherardini , wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo - Monna Lisa. ("Monna" is a contraction of Madonna " my lady " and "Mona" the erroneous spelling used in English.) Hence the alternative title, La Gioconda. But the notion that she was just a Florentine housewife does not content everyone. Various arguments have been put forward to give her a more aristocratic or idealized identity.

 The problem of identification is compounded by Leonardo's decision to keep the portrait. When he left Italy in 1516 to become court decorator for François I of France, he took the Mona Lisa with him, possibly unfinished. Leonardo had no heirs, and this famous Italian painting remained in France. However according to some, it was eventually returned to Italy by Leonardo's student and heir Salai. It is not known how the painting came to be in François I's collection. It has been suggested that there were two versions of the Mona Lisa painting, but many historians reject the second version. The duplicate copy can be found at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. After the French revolution the painting was moved to the Louvre, and Napoleon had it placed in his bedroom for a short time before it was returned to the Louvre. The popularity of the Mona Lisa increased in the mid 19th century because of the Symbolist movement. The painting was thought to encompass a sort of feminine mystique.

Again, the theft of the painting in 1911 and its return in 1913 boosted this process, as did the decision, against the advice of conservationists, to send the painting to America in 1961 and Japan in 1974. But it was the deployment of advertising and the manipulation of the image by other artists that has finally made the Mona Lisa pop, hip and cool.

According to Vasari, the artist had hired clowns, singers and bell-ringers in order to amuse Mona Lisa so that she wouldn't get depressed or bored. It's hard to believe that such a stately portrait would result from such a strange undertaking, but Mona Lisa certainly looks amused.

Dan Brown’s character Langdon explains that Mona Lisa is an anagram of the Egyptian gods of fertility: Amon (male) and Isis (female). And is androgynous, which explains that smile. Problem is, Leonardo didn’t call the painting “Mona Lisa”; it was Vasari again.

Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage, a leading association of scientists and art historians, is undertaking the investigation that that the Mona Lisa may be a self-portrait of Da Vinci himself. They think the artist who died in 1519 is buried at a French castle and plan to dig up his skull. Using CSI-style technology, they want to rebuild Da Vinci's face. Will he resemble the mysterious Mona Lisa?

In addition to pregnancy or childbirth having frequently been put forward in the past as explanations for Mona Lisa's cryptic smile, countless other theories have circulated over the centuries. The most curious theories have been provided by medical experts turned Renaissance art sleuths. One theory was that the Mona Lisa's mouth is clamped firmly shut because she was undergoing mercury treatment for syphilis which turned her teeth black.

Serge Bramly, in his biography of Leonardo, discusses the possibility that the portrait depicts the artist's mother Caterina. This would account for why Leonardo kept the portrait with him wherever he travelled, until his death. Maike Vogt-Luerssen argues that the woman behind the famous smile is Isabella of Aragon, the Duchess of Milan. Leonardo was the court painter for the Duke of Milan for 11 years. In a National Geographic presentation titled "Testing the Mona Lisa" it was deduced, after rigorous assessment, that the figure depicted in the painting might be maternal, or pregnant.

The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear till date is the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection. Till date she is both enchanting  and disturbing millions, gradually growing into a devouring temptress!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for the history. I have enjoyed the story. You use history and real world to make your statements strong and true. No weakness in this story. You create a bridge for conversation and question. Goal of any writer. Thank you for sharing this story. I hope to read more of your work. Your ideas are wise and needed. A outstanding chapter.
Coyote