The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings of all time. Two years ago I had the chance to visit the Louvre and finally saw one of the most popular works of art in the Western world. I had to wait about five minutes to get past a group of other tourists and view the painting. The work was protected by bulletproof glass, a rope for onlookers to stand behind, and a security guard stood close by. After seeing it I thought it was a nice painting; much better than I could ever do but I didn’t understand why it was so famous.
After traveling to several art museums and taking art classes I have viewed many portraits of women over the years. So I decided to research why the Mona Lisa has become one of the most recognizable paintings.
One of the most interesting reasons I have found why the Mona Lisa is still extremely famous today is due to the mystery behind it. Portraits have historically served several purposes, and the Mona Lisa never really fit into any of them. Those who study the work want to know why Da Vinci painted this women and this one of the reason the painting is still talked about today.
Another mystery behind the work is the identity of the woman. Theories have ranged from it being a marriage portrait to there being no actual woman. It has been suggested that Leonardo used himself while looking in a mirror and using himself as a guide. The figure could have even been painted from his imagination with no certain model being in mind.
If the mystery behind the work were not enough to make it famous the work also revolutionized painting portraits. The pose broke tradition. Portraits previously were often full length. Leonardo introduced the waist-up, hands-folded-on-lap approach which allowed a more intimate viewing of the subject. This pose came to be imitated for years to come.
Although I may feel it is a little overrated I still find the painting to be impressive and well done. The emphasis on her smile gives it a very life like quality. The lighting in the background gradually fades with distance and gives it a very realistic qualityas well. Overall, i feel the painting is beautifully done and will continue to be gazed at and wondered about for years to come.
Since it is impossible to get too close to the painting I found a website that allows you to see it up close and explore it future: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/dossiers/detail_oal.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673229908&CURRENT_LLV_OAL%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673229908&bmLocale=en