Mona Lisa Visual & Performing Arts Essay Research Paper

1 Introduction: Mona Lisa's Identity Based on the mid-sixteenth century biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari, many historians believe the painting is a portrait of Madam Lisa Giocondo, wife of a wealthy Florentine. It is from Vasari that the painting received the name Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda in Italian or La Joconde in French. But Vasari published his book thirty-one years after Leonardo's death, and he was known to fill in fact with fragments of fantasy. Before Vasari, the painting had been referred to as "a certain Florentine lady" and later, in the collection at Fontainebleau, as "a courtesan in a gauze veil." There are many other theories about who the sitter might have been, based on bits of scattered evidence. But the panel is unsigned and undated, and although most portraits of the time included something to indicate the sitter's family name or social status, no such emblem can be found in the Mona Lisa. Nor is there any record of a commission for the portrait among Leonardo's papers. If in fact it was commissioned, why was it not delivered to the patron who had commissioned it? It is known that Leonardo worked and reworked the painting for over four years, carrying it with him during his travels and parting with it only at his death, leaving the portrait to his close friend and patron, Francois I of France. The king hung Leonardo's treasure in a prominent place in the Apartement des Bains in the palace at Fontainebleau, where she was admired by visitors from all of Europe. No theory satisfactorily answers these questions. Some speculate that the Mona Lisa is not a portrait of one woman, but an artful composite of many, Leonardo's idealization of all womanhood. Others suggest it may have been one of Da Vinci's young male models in drag. Some even believe that the Mona Lisa is not a portrait at all, but instead what is known as a "finzione," an invention of Leonardo's extraordinary imagination. 2 Leonardo's Masterful Technique According to Louvre Curator Jean-Pierre Cuzin, "The entire history of portraiture afterwards depends on the Mona Lisa. If you look at all the other portraits – not only of the Italian Renaissance, but also of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries – if you look at Picasso, at everyone you want to name, all of them were inspired by this painting. Thus it is sort of the root, almost, of occidental portrait painting." In a break with the Florentine tradition of outlining the painted image, Leonardo perfected the technique known as sfumato, which translated literally from Italian means "vanished or evaporated." Creating imperceptible transitions between light and shade, and sometimes between colors, he blended everything "without borders, in the manner of smoke," his brush strokes so subtle as to be invisible to the naked eye. 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 color, each only a few molecules thick, making the lady's face appear to glow, and giving the painting an ethereal, almost magical quality. "Today's art critics call attention to the painting's mystery and harmony," says Cuzin. "But the first art historians to describe it emphasized its striking realism, pointing out 'the lips that smile' and 'the eyes that shine.'" 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. On looking closely at the pit of her throat, one could swear that the pulses were beating." The realism of his painting is a result of Leonardo's diverse scientific observations. From the 3 study of human anatomy he developed a mathematical system for determining size in space, perspective that is incorporated in the way Mona Lisa's torso, head and eyes are each turned a little more toward the viewer. Da Vinci also observed differences between the subject and objects in the background, and used aerial perspective to create the illusion of depth: the farther something is in the distance, the smaller the scale, the more muted the colors and the less detailed the outlines. "Leonardo has studied the sky, the elements, the atmosphere, and the light. He takes the approach of a scientist but translates it into the painting with superb delicacy and finesse. For him the painting doesn't count. What counts is the knowledge, " observes Cuzin. "In the same painting we move from soft places like the clouds to areas of extreme intricacy and fine detail. For example, around the neckline of the lady's dress we have delicate interlacing embroidery. The contrast of these different areas creates a cohesion that is very rare in painting." All this we now take for granted. The Mona Lisa looks so natural, and so familiar, that we forget how innovative the painting was at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Even the use of landscape as background was a departure from tradition; Leonardo saw creative and fictional possibilities in it. "The background may be a representation of the universe, with mountains, plains and rivers. Or possibly it is both reality and the world of dream. One could suppose that the landscape doesn't exist, that it is the young woman's own dream world." (Cuzin) Vasari reported that even beginning in Leonardo's era, artists came from far and wide to the master's studio to study the life-like Mona Lisa: "This work is executed in a manner well calculated to astonish all who behold her." The young Raphael was so fascinated by Leonardo's composition that he created a series of Florentine portraits, several of which display a striking resemblance to the Mona Lisa. But they have none of the drama of Da Vinci's masterpiece. 4 Timeline 1452 Leonardo is born in Vinci, a small village in Italy. 1466 Leonardo moves to Florence and enters the shop of Andrea Verrocchio. 1472 Leonardo joins the Florentine Guild of Artists. 1481 Leonardo paints The Adoration of the Magi, an altarpiece for the Monastery of San Donato at Scopeto, which remains unfinished. 1482 Leonardo travels to Milan and enters the service of Ludovico Sforza, the ruler of the city, presenting himself as an engineer, architect, sculptor and painter. 1483 Leonardo paints Virgin of the Rocks (now at the Louvre, Paris, France). 1485 Leonardo paints Lady with an Ermine. 1495 Leonardo begins work on The Last Supper at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan and finishes this work two years later. 1500 Leonardo begins painting the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, which is finished ten years later. 1502 Leonardo is appointed the military engineer for Cesare Borgia and placed in charge of inspecting Borgia's fortresses in Romagna. 1503 Leonardo begins painting the Mona Lisa, which he will work on for four years (according to Leonardo da Vinci's biographer, Giorgio Vasari.) 1504 Raphael arrives in Florence and visits Leonardo's studio. 1507 Leonardo is appointed the painter and engineer at the court of Louis XII in France. 1506 Leonardo paints a version of Virgin of the Rocks (now at the National Gallery, London, UK). 1513 Leonardo settles in Rome under the patronage of Giuliano de Medici. 1514 Leonardo accepts the patronage of Francois I of France and moves into the manor house of Cloux near Amboise. He paints the only known authentic likeness of himself, inscribed by a later hand: "Leonardo da Vinci, portrait of himself as an old man." 1515 Leonardo paints St. John the Baptist. 1519 Leonardo dies at the age of sixty-seven at the manor of Cloux near Amboise. 1530s Francois I displays the Mona Lisa in a semi-public art gallery at Fontainebleau, his favorite chateau. 1550 Giorgio Vasari publishes the earliest known biography of Leonardo da Vinci, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, thirty-one years after Leonardo's death. 1793 The Louvre Museum opens. 1800 The Mona Lisa is hung in Napoleon Bonapart's bedroom in the Tuileries. 1804 The Mona Lisa is installed in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre 5 Assignment: Virtual Tour and Journal Entry Learning Goals: 1. understand the way factors of historical and cultural context give meaning to the work of art, 2. analyze formal elements of the most famous painting in the world, 3. compare and contrast various interpretations of the work of art supported by visual analysis and research, 4. combine an understanding of visual elements (composition, line, color, and texture) with information about Leonardo da Vinci and Mona Lisa to build their own interpretation based on cultural and historical knowledge. Instructions: 1) Often with images as famous as the Mona Lisa, we do not really see the painting with fresh eyes. Please answer this question, “What are my first impressions when I see this painting?” (100 words) 2) Please review Module 1 (Mark Getlein, Living with Art and the “Guided Viewing”) and enhance your visual analysis of the work by visiting this website and learning more about Mona Lisa: https://focus.louvre.fr/en/mona-lisa Click tiny "Menu" icon in the middle of the webpage on the right and complete all facets of the virtual tour: - OBSERVE - "Mona Lisa sitting in her loggia," "Bourgeois attributes," "A natural landscape," "500 years of age," "A collection piece," "A fine wood panel," and watch and listen to "Giorgio Vasari on the subject of the Mona Lisa in 1550, from The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects" and "Cassiano dal Pozzo on the subject of the Mona Lisa in 1625, when the painting could be seen in the Cabinet of Paintings at the Château de Fontainebleau"; - UNDERSTAND - watch and listen to "The most famous painting in the world," "But who was Mona Lisa?", "A room with a view," "Bourgeois elegance," "A lifelike portrait" (!), "The culmination of a painting experience," "The patina of time"; - COMPARE - "Scientific tests," "The Mona Lisa and the copy in the Prado," "Infrared reflectograms of the original and the copy," "La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa," "Portraits by Leonardo," "Renaissance portraits," "Studies from nature," "Leonardo’s landscapes," and "Variations on a theme: the Mona Lisa." Do not forget to study Definitions (!) and consult Resources. 3) Answer the following question in a 400-word essay that includes visual cultural analysis of the painting: “What visual aspects of the Mona Lisa make it so engaging?” Think about the subject matter and about how the image is presented. Recall what you have learned. Analyze the visual elements (composition, perspective, line, color, shape) in relation to Leonardo’s techniques (sfumato, use of light, colors of the foreground and background, brushwork) that depart from earlier painting tradition. With which scientific principles do Mona Lisa’s painterly conventions correspond? Think about how Leonardo's aerial and linear perspective related to his scientific understanding of the natural world. Recall historical interpretations of the painting and explain why this work of art has been so important. Provide your own opinion regarding the artwork. Total word count: 500 words. 100 points