Abirpothi

India’s only daily art newspaper

Mona Lisa: Mysterious Story of a Painting, Secrets of a Treasure

Do you know why is the image of ‘Monalisa, a tiny canvas of a mature lady’s portrait with a smiling face, so fascinating to millions? This portrait painting changes the history of Art. A smiling lady from a period and landscape is fascinated millions directly and billions indirectly. People from worldwide come to see a tiny painting in Louvre, Paris.

Da Vinci’s iconic portrait is the world’s most famous and one of the treasures of the Modern world, the most copied artwork in various forms and styles. This painting told the story of the history of Europe in way and fashion, how people tried to steal these works, what they are, incredibly liberated by revolutionary forces, the painting briefly adorned Napoleon’s bedroom and then was installed in the Louvre permanently.

What is the Mona Lisa?

Credit: leonardodavinci

Now the most astonishing thing is over 80% of Louvre travellers come mainly to see Mona Lisa. Due to new queuing rules, viewers have only 30 seconds to esteem the painting’s legendary charm. People worldwide come to Paris and visit Louvre for this 30-second bliss.

The Mona Lisa is now estimated to be worth 800 million dollars today; Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of women seated is set against an imaginary landscape is treated as invaluable. In this portrait, Da Vinci avoids use, which shows off their social class and prosperity with dazzling attire, hairstyles and supplements; Mona Lisa is dressed in elegant plainness, which draws attention to her face.

Why is the Mona Lisa so famous?

Credit: leonardodavinci

Some scholars suggest Da Vinci made the notion of happiness the central theme of this painting, making the work such an ideal figurative composition unusual in Italian portraits of that time; shifting from standard female portraiture, she encounters our eyes straight, as a male naturally would, curving barely towards the witness, smiling at some hidden pleasure.

When we go through this painting, we get an idea about the artist’s amusement, which hides in this painting; the way light falls on ‘Mona Lisa’s curved face and the background landscape brings more attention to the lady figure.

Leonardo was fascinated by the way light falls on curved surfaces. The gauzy veil, Mona Lisa’s hair, the luminescence of her skin – all are created with layers of transparent colour, each only a few molecules thick, making the lady’s face appear to glow and giving the painting an ethereal, almost magical quality. “But the first art historians to describe it emphasized its striking realism, pointing out ‘the lips that smile’ and ‘the eyes that shine.'” Giorgio Vasari, for example, wrote in his early biography of da Vinci, Lives of the Painters: “As Art may imitate nature, she does not appear to be painted, but truly of flesh and blood. Looking closely at the pit of her throat, one could swear that the pulses were beating.”

The Mona Lisa Today

credit: mymodernmet

People from every corner of the world come to Paris to meet this astonishing lady. The contemporary fame of the Mona Lisa is overwhelming, and now this painting is exhibited behind a layer of bulletproof glass. Employing advanced technology, art lovers can go after the bulletproof mirror and investigate the secret details of the picture.

Secret Things About Mona Lisa

  1. Mona Lisa lived with Francois I, Louis XIV and Napoleon for some time before authority moved to Lourve. At the outset of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte kept the painting in his boudoir.
  2. Art historians believe Mona Lisa was a self-portrait of Da Vinci.
  3. Own a room in the prestigious Museum of Louvre, Paris; a mirrored roof lets in light, and a shatter-proof glass showcase holds a steady temperature of 43 degrees F. A little limelight shows the true colours of da Vinci’s paints.
  4. Mona Lisa receives love letters and flowers from around the world, and she has her mailbox to get these letters and flowers.
  5. According to French heritage law, Mona Lisa can’t be sold.

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