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Monday, May 22, 2006

The uniqueness of Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a 16th century oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci and is one of the most famous paintings in art history. The painting shows a woman looking out at the viewer with what is described as an "enigmatic smile". Mona Lisa is famous for her beautiful changing smile and eyes that continue to stare and follow you, no matter in which direction you turn.
Every part of Mona Lisa has some special features which make it unique. First of all her eyes that Leonardo believed there were the windows to the soul and there is a question that "is she looking at us or at some thing behind us that we can't see?" Second, her lips that are no hard out line and Leonardo used a technique called stumato, which gave objects a soft look. Third, the jaw which is quite masculine and this is a reason that some people thought the picture might be a portrait of Leonardo himself.
Her hands are slightly swollen which make some people believe Mona Lisa was pregnant and in other hands she isn't wearing any rings which is unusual for a married woman. Next, she is sitting in a chair with her body facing one direction and her face looking toward us and Leonardo give the painting a sense of movement. Another point is that, the landscape which placed behind the portrait, give a sense of overall harmony and reflect Leonardo's idea of the cosmic link connecting humanity and nature and make this painting an enduring record of his vision.
The smile, which is the most important part in her portrait, is higher on the right and the lower on the left. This makes her expression unusual. The interesting point is that, when we focus on the smile. It seems to disappear. How ever when we look at the other parts of the painting, we notice the smile. Researchers break the smile in to small divisions and checked it for each of six emotions: happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear and sadness.
At last, every part of Mona Lisa has a story behind it and the mysteries and codes on it can be interpreted many times and in many ways. Leonardo painted Mona Lisa, especially her mouth and eyes, in a light and shade form, which explain why she may look different and different times and attract the attention of the entire world!

1 Comments:

At 8:20 AM, Blogger S. Susan Marandi said...

Very interesting stuff. I've become more interested in Da Vinci ever since I read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Have you read it? But please mention the source you've taken it from! :-)

 

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