Mona Lisa Analysis - Assignment Example

Mona Lisa   When I was young the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) always fascinated me. Perhaps this is because it is such a famous painting and in that daysI was into quizzes a lot and was expected to know that it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503. It was only gradually that I came to appreciate and admire its artistic qualities, and much later learn about its background and historical context, and more about Leonardo da Vinci himself. The lesson gave me the opportunity to learn much more in-depth about the Mona Lisa as a work of Art.

Others have described the painting in a similar way too but I do not believe it is hype. If the story about trying to amuse Mona before making her portrait (Vasari 2006) is true this shows in her expression but I still believe there is more hidden beneath the surface. Perhaps there is some truth concerning the recent nude Mona Lisa discovery (Lorenzi 2009). Its parallels with the original Mona Lisa could indicate that the painter and the painted had a special rapport and liking for each other.

If so, this explains much of the natural yet mysterious expressions of the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is a good example of the High Renaissance style because, like the paintings of Raphael and Michelangelo, it is portraiture and work of beauty showing an “artist’s individual skills and vision” (pbs.org). This was the typical style of painting at the time besides art for historical and religious purposes. “The idea that painters and sculptors might create from personal inspiration was new” (ibid) during the Renaissance period.

But what makes the painting characteristically a work of Leonardo da Vinci are the painstaking effort that must have gone into it, the skillful use of the sfumato, the careful portrayal of perspective, and the strong sense of imagination coupled with his attempt to paint a realistic picture. In short, the mix of beauty, grace, and talent can be none other than Leonardo’s. His belief that sight is man’s most precious possession is also evident in the Mona Lisa in the way she is looking.

Others have mentioned Leonardo’s special ‘signatures’ in the painting such as the form under Mona Lisa’s left shoulder (Queiros-Conde 2004). Although I have been to Paris on a few occasions I never had the chance to see the original painting at the Louvre museum. But the next time I go, I plan to see this delightful painting for myself.