The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognized paintings in the world. The secrets behind the Mona Lisa have been in question for years. Who is this girl? Is she sulking or smirking? Was she one of Leonardo da Vinci’s lovers? Anyone who looks at the Mona Lisa is struck with familiarity. I think part of the attraction to the Mona Lisa is two parts. One is how forward that painting is for its time. At that point in time a picture of a woman would not typically be looking at you the way that Mona Lisa is. Also, the fact that she is smirking is “odd” for that time. The style of personal portraits at that time showed people straight faced and staring off. This was typically due to how long the artist took to paint the portrait and people could not …show more content…
It is said that it was so life like that people felt like they could reach out and touch the girl. It was very realistic for its time. Leonardo Da Vinci is a genius of his time. He was born in Tuscan Hamlet near Vinci where he apprenticed under Verrocchio (ArtChive). He picked up a lot of his style from Verrocchio, like his anatomically correctness. He painted several popular paintings while still under the apprenticeship of Verrocchio. He remained under the apprenticeship of Verrocchio even after he was recognized as an artist in his own right. Eventually, da Vinci embarked on his own journey to open his own studio. Da Vinci became a renowned artist. He embodied the meaning of a renaissance man and was lauded by his peers. He had many other master pieces that he is well known for. He also painted The Last Supper and Salvador Mundi. While those paintings are famous, they did not take on the same fame as the Mona Lisa. I do not think that when da Vinci took on painting the Mona Lisa he really knew how much of a key figure in art it would become. The Mona Lisa was in the chateau of the King of France and hung in Napoleons’ …show more content…
This attention from it being stolen likely stirred up some attention and popularity of the portrait again. The hunt began and sooner rather than later in 1913 (Academia) the painting was recovered from the thieves and went on a world tour. Upon its tour of the world millions of people flocked to see it in person. It saw many cities and countries from the Americas to Japan. It was and is worshiped as a true piece of art. This tour of the world is what seems to have really sparked the Mona Lisa’s eternal fame. It is now used in commercials to sell products. I do not believe that the fame of the Mona Lisa took away from the profoundness of the painting. It is the reproductions for advertisement I believe diminishes its beauty. Contemporary advertisers use the popularity of the Mona Lisa to their advantage as they try to create a modern version of the Mona Lisa to feed their advertising needs. One that comes to mind is a Pantene advertisement. It shows a more modern Mona Lisa with shiny luscious ringlets and claims to restore age damaged hair. My personal opinion is that this is very disrespectful to the Mona Lisa. I believe that using such a monumental piece of art as advertising is in bad taste. The constant throwing