Why is the Mona Lisa One of the Most Famous Paintings in the World? The Mona Lisa has been one of the most debated paintings of all time. The look on the face of the women in this painting leaves a person’s mind wondering. No one really seems to know what this mysterious woman is thinking or feeling.
The questions that cannot seem to be answered are what make this painting so famous. The reason for that is because it is raveled in mystery and secrets. All of the small details make the painting stand out by being different from others and the details also make it far more remarkable as well.And surely, the smirk on the face of the Mona Lisa is the major key factor to the painting being so interesting. “Leonardo da Vinci was one of the major figures of the Italian High renaissance.
His subtle Mona Lisa is perhaps the world’s most famous painting. The mysterious smile of his model has fascinated viewers for centuries. ” There is even a very major sense of perception in the painting because many people are still trying to decide what they believe about this particular work of art. The Mona Lisa has to be one of the most famous and intriguing painting of all time.According to author Kenneth Clark, “Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife; and after he had lingered over it four years, left it unfinished.
” Even though it seems that the painting had never been finished, there is an extraordinary amount of quality in the painting of the Mona Lisa, and it is said that “When one sees the original out of the frame, and in strong daylight, the effect is overwhelming. ” This does not come to me as a surprise because Leonardo da Vinci had a very unique kind of style that he used in his work.In this particular work of art, Leonardo made the Mona Lisa very majestic and rich in color. Leonardo da Vinci’s innovative handling of light and shade is well known. According to author Z.
Zaremba Filipczak, “The setting, lighting, and color scheme of the Mona Lisa all support the hypothesis of dim studio lighting during the working process. ” This may lead people to believe that the woman and the background in the Mona Lisa were possibly painted at two separate locations. This is just one small example of the mystery surrounding the painting.No one really knows for sure, but the secrets that are held within the painting are more than likely what attracts the attention of so many. Filipczak also states “Lisa is indeed a landscape; the figure is not placed under an open sky.
Leonardo modified the traditional scheme by an addition. ” This indicates that the painting was not done at the location in the background, but instead, the background was drawn first and then the image of the woman in the painting was added after the fact. Why did Leonardo do this? What was going through his mind when he decided to have this particular background?I believe that it may have had something to do with his sense of style, and the way that the colors and theme complimented the woman’s face and posture. It is believed that there is a possibility that the landscape may not have been a real location in the first place. Another author by the name of Webster Smith agrees with the fact that the Mona Lisa was not actually painted in the scenery that has been placed in the background, but rather the scenery was placed there before hand with some deep representational meaning to help support the picture of the woman itself.
The harmony of figure and landscape in the Mona Lisa has been thought to be an expression of the analogy that Leonardo da Vinci drew elsewhere, in words, between the human body and the body of the Earth, between microcosm and macrocosm. ” It was also said that Leonardo da Vinci “could have seen the landscape itself as a body, having rocky formations for bones and cartilage and rivers for veins. ” If that were the case, why would he bring macrocosm into the painting of someone’s portrait? I believe that Leonardo did so because he wanted to bring an element of personification into his painting.This evidence is supported by a phrase that Leonardo used to say frequently, “Man is model of the world” I believe that he used these techniques to create a sense on representational style, as in, he made a part of the painting to represent other things.
I am especially fond of the way that Leonardo da Vinci uses color in his paintings. The way that he uses color is so majestic that it seems as if his paintings may be glowing. He also uses heavy aesthetics in the painting of the Mona Lisa.It is said to be discovered that Leonardo “worked with extraordinarily fine strokes and sometimes he blended areas with his fingers for a soft-focus sfumato effect. ” He was also a very talented user of light and shadows.
He believed heavily in the importance of lighting and shading. And Leonardo himself would always talk about why he did shading and lighting the way that he did. Leonardo once stated that “Shadow is the privation of light. Shadows appear to be supremely necessary in perspective, since without them opaque and solid bodies will be ill defined. He really put this idea to the test in his painting of the Mona Lisa.
He used shading in several different areas of the picture such as the areas around the woman’s elbows, the areas around her chest, and especially the areas around her very mysterious face. Leonardo also said that “darkness is the first degree of shadow and light is the last. Therefore make your shadow darker close to its origin, and at its end show it being transformed into light, that is to say, so that it appears to have no termination. He uses this technique in the Mona Lisa’s hair and on her gown, especially towards the bottom of the painting around her arms. The Mona Lisa may or may not have been intended to be considered public art, but over the decades, the public has had their attention caught by the many different personal contemplations that have been thrown out there for people of the public to consider. Whenever I see the painting of the Mona Lisa, I ask myself why her smile is so ominous and amazing.
Others may ask a question like what is she smiling at? Or, is she even smiling at all?The fact that there is no obvious answer to this question leaves people wondering, and it also gives people the opportunity to decide for themselves what they find the meaning to be. “In the self portrait theory it is said that the artist painted hidden messages into the painting using symbols Whether there will ever be evidence located that can prove or disprove any of the theories surrounding the Mona Lisa painting the world has had a wonderful time loving her, examining her and trying to decide what exactly it is she is smiling about, which may have been the sole intent of the artist when he painted that piece. People have analyzed the Mona Lisa, and have found all kinds of hidden meanings and techniques in it. It is certain that Leonardo used some of his best artist's tricks to create the painting. Many people find the portrait's smile particularly haunting.
They say it “seems to change, even though the paint on the surface of the painting obviously does not. ” Again, this shows Leonardo’s sense of style in his work.It makes me wonder why people see the smile shifting, and why those people view the piece of art the way that they do. I am beginning to think that Leonardo wanted this to happen in his work. He wanted people to not understand his work, but he also wanted them to see the true beauty of the work and not know why it was so beautiful.
It is a mind game in a sense, as in, people are not supposed to “get it,” but they are able to draw conclusions of their own and understand the work in their own personal way.
