Why Mona Lisa is actually NOT Mona Lisa ...
The 77x53 cm painting is dubbed the most viewed, an inscrutable feminin puzzle, most enigmatic smile on Earth.
And who's behind all the conundrum? Is it really a transvestite depiction of the most celebrated painter from the village of Vinci? Is it just a work that never got delivered to its proper client? Or, really, as millions would believe it, the enlightened man of the Renaissance era, Leonardo da Vinci, tried to convey a message of what he'd known all along however too wary of its shocking significance?
Leonardo 60 years old, self portrait.
While I’m no Dan Brown, I can’t refer to any of his theories (which are surprisingly convincing enough to spark worldwide debate and controversies). Not unexpectedly, we’re not the first batch of admirers who find Mona Lisa stunningly enigmatic.
It all started with what's said to be the birth of an illegitimate son of Ser Piero, in 1452. The convention of the time in the region of the Medici (seat of power in Florence) was that you are given a first name and may adopt your father's last name ─if you belong to a wealthy or noble family, or later be recognised by your profession (the Medici had initially had a few medici, doctors in their family), your origin eg. as in Leonardo da Vinci (from the village of Vinci). Leonardo reputedly never bother with having a surname, signing his works by « Io, Leonardo » - (Italian) Me, Leonardo.
Don't bother discussing what multitasking really means with the genius from Vinci for he's widely known as the Jack of all trades nel Cinquecento (the sixteenth century). He excelled in decoration, architecture (Château d'Amboise), science (human anatomy, zoology, watch making, he even envisaged of a flying machine) and let's not forget... event organising (King of France and the Duc of Milan requested him to organise a few fêtes and royal events) albeit surprisingly he failed to get employment with the Roman Church in his early career days.
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I find it rather annoying why the most viewed painting on Earth is affectionately marketed by its alien name.
The woman model is said to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giacondo of Florence. The wealthy silk merchant, having had a church built, now just moved to a new residence and wanting to have his young wife of 24 year olds painted. Leonardo, a man of 51 years of age, accepted the order.
The thing is, Francesco del Giacondo and his family never received what's theirs, the painting promised to be hung in their salotto, what's to become la Giaconda (Mona Lisa).
The mystery shrouding this piece however commenced by great Italian artists of Leonardo’s era who found themselves intrigued by Leonardo’s sfumato style (sfumato = fumed, smoked).
Leonardo remains the unsurpassed grandmaster of the technique applying layer after layer of paint, creating a fuzzy graphic and vapourish illusion of “liveliness” ─eg. Mona Lisa’s eyes appear to follow the viewer, and her smile slightly changes over a different angle and (lighting) shade.
François I de France
The hush hush rumour was fuelled by the word the painting never left the artist’s side, that it stayed with Leonardo wherever he travelled, and eventually taken to France in meeting with François Premier, king of France, a keen enthusiast of Renaissance art, who's powerful enough to invite numerous Italian artists to undertake a variety of works in his châteaux all over France. And when you're King of France, you simply can't be outdone by other royal personalities, so François I started to build a collection of paintings notably those of Raphaël, Titian, and Michaelangelo.
François was smitten by the old man. The King absolutely respected and adored the old painter from Vinci that he would call him «mon père» - my father. Leonardo went back to Florence and Rome completing a few more projects before returning to France and eventually passed away in his adopted home. His tomb todate remained in the Chapelle St. Hubert, a private section dedicated in the Château d'Amboise (see photo).
Nevertheless later Leonardo presented the painting as a cadeau (gift) to François Premier. It then moved home to Château Fontainebleau, then Versailles, the Tuileries (the Louvre). 1911 saw a theft that enraged the world, committed by a tradesman Vincenzo Perrugia, having worked for a while for the museum.
And the theory he’s a Priori de Sion grandmaster exarcebated all the mystery buried beneath the canvas. Voilà, the grand master himself completed all the mystery against his persona.
La Joconde alias Mona Lisa
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Quite recently, with the advance of technology, a few prominent scientists and curators have come up with no less than a suggestion that the “Lady” is to be exhumed via laser, x-ray, whatever the latest technology is. Hotly disputed by not a bad number of experts and art lovers pronouncing: Just leave it alone, let our grand kids enjoy the most enigmatic smile …
For generations to come.
10 comments:
I first saw the Mona Lisa back in 1980 and I remember how smitten my parents were when we stood in front of the lady. When I asked my dad why he was so mesmerised by a mere painting, all he said to me was, "Come back here when you're a big girl and you'll know why".
mdew : saw it Jan 2004. I'll come back but probably for other sections of the Louvre.
I didn't manage to see it when I was there last June. The queue outside was too long and I don't have a long patience chord built in me. Let's see if I can visit the lady some time at the end of this year.
mdew : I know, the line up is petrifying. But I came early during the day, just after 9 am and we made it in less than 15" - no longer than queuing up at my bank here!
On a second thought, there's something else I've been eyeing for : to go châteaux - hopping (or better, stay at one! Some open like a hotel). Whereas Italy and Spain have more fortresses, castles, France rakes in châteaux. The Loire is rich with those jewels.
Need a car, a valid driving licence. And a Michel map. Et ca suffit.
Yeah, the queue was longer than any museum queue I've ever seen, but then again, it was summer when I was there, so hopefully Nov/Dec won't be so bad (or is it?). I was lucky at the Uffizi.
Chateau-hopping sounds like fun. Must try that, too!
Kebetulan, secara gak sengaja aku menyebut nama Leonardo dan Vinci di entry terakhirku. Menurut beberapa sumber, Porto Canale di Cesenatico di arsiteki oleh Sigr. Leonardo sewaktu beliau berkunjung ke Cesena. Maksudnya untuk menghalangi invasi kaum Venetian saat itu.
Di lukisan L'Ultima Cena, sosok mirip perempuan di sebelah Gesu, menurut alhli sejarah ( nonton di TF1)adalah ekspresi/ gambaran dari aktivitas seksual beliau yg konon beliau menyukai sesama jenis.
Actually you need GPS also..he..he..
duh...di babelfish gak ada modul buat terjemahin bahasa inggris ke bahasa indonesia...:)
Somebody who's taking some European art-history lessons told me why that painting becomes the magnum opus of da Vinci. It is not its outstanding quality, for many of his paintings are, well, better, but the marketing by the painter himself. Da Vinci always boasted to everyone that it's the best one he ever made. I think she made some points here.
And I was more impressed by Raphael works in that museum, indeed.
tari : GPS apaankah? Sig Da Vinci emang telah ke mana-mana dan meninggalkan jejak hingga skrg. Menyeramkan! ^^
boy : (???) maksutnya?
rizal : for me what's disappointing was the size of Mona Lisa. Minuscule compared to Madonna on the rocks. You may be better off looking at a magazine - but of course it's the sfumato technique that's to be proven before our eyes.
Raphael painted à la grande. Grand in size, grand in theme, and grand in quality! His works stand out.
Macchi, Global Positioning System, " mainan" penunjuk jalan...Tadinya di pakai untuk militer atau di pesawat. Yang terkenal saat ini Garmin dan Tom Tom Go. Kami punya Garmin dan meskipun masih suka nyasar dikit...tapi bisa menolong banyak. tentunya petapun akan banyak membantu juga.
Akhir July aku dan Ben pulang ke Giava dan baru papanya Ben, di sana sampai akhir Agustus. Kalo kamu studynya lama bisa ketemuan pas musim gugur, lebih sepi italia.
Mengenai lukisan atau yg berhubungan dengan seni, sepertinya kamu harus ketemu kakak ipar aku yang pernah belajar di Louvre.
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