Mona Lisa Essay

In your opinion, what is the primary reason for this evolution in fame? Do you think the original painting has been enhanced or diminished by this change in status? Explain how and give specific examples from the internet of how her image has been 'borrowed' by contemporary advertisers.

Mona Lisa....Leonardo Da Vinci. Two names that are instantly recognizable. Leonardo Da Vinci created the masterpiece of Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa has fascinated centuries for reasons such as the mysteries behind the painting. Its status has never faltered in the eyes of art fanatics or the countless travelers that travel miles to get a glimpse of the painting. Other artist have also taken the status of Mona Lisa and incorporated their work into the painting.

In reading about Mona Lisa and about the artist, Leonardo Da Vinci, I think the reason for the fame of the painting of Mona Lisa is the mystery that surrounds it. The smile alone has been questioned and analyzed to guess what she may have been smiling. "The first serious analysis of the smile, as opposed to a simple signaling of its presence (Vasari) or a definition of it as enigmatic, is a 193 3 study by Raymond Bayer, Léonard de U'nci: La Grâce. A smile, Bayer points out, can light up a whole face. It is a play of cheeks, chin, eyes. It is a question of light. The smile of the Mona Lisa is a half-smile, un sourire attenué " (Sassoon 9). As humans, we smile for different reasons whether it's something that has amused us or if we have just done something mischievous. People are often what she is smiling about and why isn't she smiling any broader?

In addition to her smile, there is speculation that there is more than one copy of the Mona Lisa. The website, The Mona Lisa Foundation, provides historical evidence of multiple paintings, of an earlier and a later version. "A plausible explanation for the incompatibility between these accounts is that an earlier version was left in Florence c.1505 with Francesco del Giocondo, and the second (i.e., the 'Louvre Version') was completed in Rome c.1516 at the encouragement of Giuliano de Medici. Mona Lisa would have been in her early-twenties in 1501 and in her mid-thirties in 1516 (as the subject in the 'Louvre Version')" (Summary of Historical Evidence). I don't think it lessens the value of this historical masterpiece. I think the mere fact that Leonardo painted the one that we've grown to know is what makes the difference.

I think the original painting of Mona Lisa will always be popular. The status of Mona Lisa is enhanced, it will remain timeless. I have had the privilege of seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre museum in Paris when I was 18 years old. It is an amazing piece. Out of all the pieces, I remember a lot of people being around the picture. The Louvre had it roped off to where you could only stand a certain distance from the painting.