About Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a famous portrait. Da Vinci spent four years. And why does this seemingly ordinary work represent the highest achievement of painting in this era but has such great charm?

Let's review medieval art first. In the long Middle Ages, art became a tool of Christianity. Sculpture and painting are based on the teaching of the Bible, so characters are also fictional conceptual images, which have neither the support of real life nor the basis of scientific knowledge. Therefore, the characters are stiff, dull and lifeless like wood. However, Leonardo da Vinci's portrait Mona Lisa is full of humanistic spirit, and the theme is taken from real people in real life, which has a real human feeling. This portrait became a masterpiece of the Renaissance. Renaissance is an ideological emancipation movement under the banner of humanism. Humanism, on the other hand, has a philosophical view of explaining the world with people as the center. It first affirms people's value and position in real life, respects people's emotions and praises people's strength.

The success of Mona Lisa lies in that the author accurately captures the smallest expressions and moving moments of the model. Leonardo da vinci's realistic creative method left the charming youthful beauty of Mona Lisa in the picture forever and vividly. We can see from Mona Lisa's face that a quiet, elegant and mysterious smile is quietly revealed through her slightly pursed lips, slightly raised corners of her eyes and slightly condensed eyes, and naturally, naively and simply overflows with an imperceptible inner activity full of human feelings. We can also feel a kind of youthful blood flowing through Mona Lisa's fingers through her soft and plump skin, precise and accurate structure and natural and vivid state. This is a fresh spiritual life.

Therefore, Mona Lisa is a landmark work in western painting.

Mona Lisa. Also known as LA GIOCONDA

Mystery of Mona Lisa's smile

For 500 years, people have been unable to agree on the mysterious smile of Mona Lisa. Different audiences or at different times look and feel different. I think she sometimes smiles comfortably and gently, sometimes looks serious, sometimes looks slightly sad, and sometimes even reveals ridicule and ridicule. In a painting, the change of light can't be as different as in sculpture. However, on Mona Lisa's face, dim shadows appear and disappear, covering her eyes and lips with a veil. However, people's smiles are mainly reflected in the corners of their eyes and corners of their mouths. But Leonardo da Vinci's descriptions of these parts are faint and have no clear boundaries, which is why there is such an elusive "mysterious smile".

Dr. Livingstone, a neuroscientist at Harvard University, said that Mona Lisa's smile was flickering, which was related to the human visual system, rather than the mysterious expression of the people in the painting. Dr. Livingstone is an authority on visual nerve activity, mainly studying the response of eyes and brain to different contrast and light and shade. Livingstone said: "The smile is flashing because the viewer has changed the position of his eyes." She said that the human eye has two different parts to receive images. The central part (that is, the shallow fossa on the retina) is responsible for distinguishing colors and marking them carefully. Pay attention to the black and white, movements and shadows around the shallow pit. According to Livingstone, when people look at a face, most of their eyes are fixed on the other person's eyes. If people's central vision is placed in Mona Lisa's eyes, then less accurate peripheral vision will fall on her mouth. Because peripheral vision does not pay attention to nuances, it invisibly highlights the shadow of cheekbones. In this way, the radian of the smile is even greater. However, when the eyes look directly at Mona Lisa's mouth, the central vision will not see the shadow. Livingstone said, "If you look at her mouth, you will never catch her smile." Mona Lisa's smile is looming because people's eyes are constantly shifting. Livingstone pointed out that if you want to copy the Mona Lisa, you should look away when describing your mouth.

1993, Susan Gill, a Canadian art historian, published a shocking research result. She said that Mona Lisa's lips, which attracted countless audiences, were men's bare backs. This argument is novel and absurd, but it is powerful. Leonardo da Vinci, a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and scientist, was a "geek". He likes to wear a pink coat, paint his beard with colorful colors without scruple, and often claims that he has dissected more than 30 bodies. He is still left-handed and used to write backwards from right to left. Others must use the mirror to read what he wrote. Therefore, using the mirror is also a way for the audience to read pictures. After rotating 90 degrees, Mona Lisa's lips in the mirror are just the back of a strong man with clear lines, as well as his left arm and elbow angle; Besides, expressing the beauty of human body and calling for the awakening of human nature is not only the master's philosophy of life, but also his artistic view.

Indeed, people will get different feelings when they appreciate this painting from different angles and under different light. That smile is sometimes gentle, sometimes serene and serious, sometimes slightly sad, and sometimes somewhat ironic and ridiculous. The mysterious smile reveals the mysterious spiritual activities of the characters.

For hundreds of years, new explanations of "smile" have emerged one after another. For example, smiling without showing white teeth is because the prototype is elegant and beautiful but not good at words; The prototype is depressed and unhappy because of the death of his beloved daughter, and it is difficult to hide his sadness. What's more, Mona Lisa was pushed off the throne of a lady, and the prototype was demoted to a prostitute, so she smiled with ridicule and ridicule.

Dr Joseph Baukowski of Maryland, USA, said: "The Mona Lisa didn't laugh at all. Her facial expression typically shows that she wants to hide that she has no front teeth. "

Dr Jean Jacques Kondert, a brain surgeon in Lyon, France, thinks that Mona Lisa has just suffered a stroke. Look, half of her face is flabby and her face is crooked, so she looks smiling.

Dr Kenneth gay friends, a British doctor, thinks the Mona Lisa is pregnant. His basis is that her face is satisfied, her skin is fresh and tender, and her hands are crossed on her abdomen. Sexologists speculate that Mona Lisa has just experienced an orgasm, so she showed a smile that fascinated the world.

There is also an almost nonsense statement: her expression looks like she ate phenylalanine, a pleasure hormone produced in her body after eating chocolate. Few people believe this statement because there was no chocolate at that time.

The Mystery of the Authenticity of Mona Lisa

It is said that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is collected in the Louvre in Paris. However, there is a saying in the collection that it is not the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre, but the real Mona Lisa hanging on the wall of an apartment in London.

Dr Pulitzer, the custodian of the apartment and the work, said that after the Mona Lisa was completed, the work was left in Lisa de Zogon's home. Later, another nobleman asked Da Vinci to paint a portrait of his mistress. The woman known as "La Gioconda" (meaning "smiling person") looks very much like the Mona Lisa. So the lazy Da Vinci changed the Mona Lisa's face into "Jokangda". After the painting was completed, the nobles abandoned La Qiaokangda and did not buy this painting. Later, at the invitation of Francis I, Leonardo da Vinci took the painting to France. Pulitzer said that what makes the Louvre more brilliant is the portrait of Gioconda. Mona Lisa was later exiled to England. At the beginning of this century, it was bought by william blake, a museum curator and art connoisseur, and later by a Swiss consortium, of which Pulitzer was a member.

At the beginning of this century, many people copied and forged famous works of art on a large scale, so there is reason to suspect that the one in London is a fake. However, Dr. Pulitzer is convinced of the authenticity of his paintings. He confirmed through photomicrography that the fingerprints on this painting in London are the same as those on other works of Leonardo da Vinci. According to records, the Mona Lisa is younger 19 years old than La Giocondo, and was painted with a veil of mourning. Of the two paintings, only the one in London shows a young woman wearing a beautiful veil. Another evidence is that Raphael drew a sketch when Leonardo da Vinci painted this painting. There are two pillars behind the Mona Lisa in the sketch, which appear in the portrait of London, while the background of the Louvre painting is cliffs, paths, stone bridges, trees and flowing water.

For hundreds of years, many collectors have claimed that they have the real Mona Lisa, and the number has reached as many as 60. More interestingly, the Bertrand Museum of Art in Maine received a Mona Lisa without a smile at 1984. It has been determined that this painting was indeed written by Leonardo da Vinci, and all the characters in the painting resemble the Mona Lisa. Experts speculate that this smiling Mona Lisa may be a manuscript drawn by the author at the same time.

There is also a saying that the Mona Lisa in the Louvre is a fake, which is based on the theft in 19 1 1. The Mona Lisa was stolen in that theft. Two years later, it appeared in Italy, but the colonnade on both sides behind the Mona Lisa has been cut off. A few years later, the Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre. However, many experts believe that this recovery is only a smoke screen. The real Mona Lisa has been bought by a rich collector, and what hangs in the Louvre is only a fake.

The Mystery of the Background of Mona Lisa

Carlo pedretti, a professor at the University of California, believes that the background behind Mona Lisa is the scenery near Brianaud Bridge in arezzo, central Italy. Pedretti's evidence is that Da Vinci was born in Da Vinci Town, about 100 km from arezzo, and once lived in arezzo. The original landscape in this area is almost the same as the background of Mona Lisa. So Leonardo da Vinci probably used the pastoral scenery in this area as the background of Mona Lisa. When pedretti's views were published at the International Symposium on Da Vinci's Painting, many experts in art history affirmed his research results.

The mystery of Mona Lisa's death

According to records, Lisa Di Gradini died of depression at the age of 46, but a Japanese cardiologist said that he found a macula on the Mona Lisa's left eye, which is a sign of high cholesterol. Japanese cardiologists say the Mona Lisa should have died of a myocardial infarction.

The endless Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa, this is an endless question. It has been nearly 500 years since it came out, and later generations have many comments and speculations, leaving more and more puzzles. At present, there are hundreds of monographs on Mona Lisa in the world, and nearly 100 scholars regard this painting as a lifelong topic. The passage of time will not solve the puzzle, but will only leave more doubts for future generations with the deepening of research.

People love her excessively. Endlessly explore her imperceptible, fleeting but eternal smile, her all-seeing and all-inclusive eyes, her dignified and calm posture, her noble and simple costume, and her impeccable perfect composition. People marvel: Leonardo, only with the wisdom of Leonardo and God, can we collect so many beautiful elements and combine many beautiful things into a perfect whole. Therefore, beauty, wisdom, eternity, trinity, ultimate collocation, there is no possibility of transcendence. In this way, "Mona Lisa" brings people infinite beautiful reverie, but also gives people infinite heavy pressure. People are willing to live in her shade and absorb nourishing nutrition; I long to get out of her shadow and breathe the free air. For many years, countless people who are obsessed with painting things have been troubled by this contradiction.

This is a myth, which has nothing to do with Leonardo da Vinci, and is completely fabricated by later generations. Myth is like a snowball, which keeps rolling and expanding with the passage of time, and finally even the maker of myth is swallowed up. Today, the Mona Lisa sits in a prominent position in the Louvre, and welcomes thousands of tourists with a familiar, mysterious and eternal smile every day through the thick bulletproof glass. These pilgrimage-like audiences are full of all kinds of questions. They are eager to read the answer through this gentle and quiet face, but when they leave, they take away more questions. There are many problems, many of which have nothing to do with the Mona Lisa. Some people may ask: Is Mona Lisa the name of the person in the painting or another name for the smile? Is the person in the picture the wife of banker Joe Gondo or Princess Isabel? Does this painting have a real model, or is it drawn by imagination? The characters in this painting have no eyebrows. Is this the aesthetic fashion of Florence in those days, or is it the pregnancy reaction that some people say? Did the person in the painting just experience the pain of miscarriage and put on mourning? Is Mona Lisa's puzzled expression really a smile? Isn't it caused by facial paralysis? Is the Mona Lisa a man or a woman? Is the prototype Leonardo himself? The more bizarre the problem is, the farther away it is from the painting itself, which not only does not help to interpret the painting, but leads people astray.

In fact, some questions have constituted blasphemy against the Mona Lisa, but the questioner has not yet noticed it. Is the Mona Lisa a man or a woman? Is it necessary to ask? No one with gender awareness should question this, but some people still insist on asking such absurd questions. Some people say that Mona Lisa gives people a neutral feeling, at least she (he) will not give people a sexual temptation. Excuse me, can only sex appeal constitute female beauty? So, what's the difference between portraits and pornographic photos? There is no doubt that Mona Lisa is beautiful, and her beauty is fully reflected in the beauty of human nature, not limited to female characteristics; In other words, her beauty has surpassed the gender barrier, but this does not mean that she can't distinguish between the sexes. If there is no ulterior motive, it is very boring to ask absurd questions about obvious facts. It's outrageous to say facial paralysis in the face of a pleasing portrait. Is Mona Lisa's expression stiff? It's ridiculous to say that a moment's expression is frozen and stiff. The smile is indescribable. Unconscious smile, friendly smile, gratified smile or slightly sarcastic smile in concentration are all the feelings of everyone under different emotions, but there is no doubt about the smile. As for some people who think that Mona Lisa's smile is beyond the reach of ordinary people, there is absolutely no need to conclude that this painting is not based on a real person, but is entirely based on imagination. People are amazed at Leonardo da Vinci's superb painting skills: the people in the painting, from the five senses to the hands, to other parts of the body, including clothes, are so real and tangible, almost within reach, beyond imagination. If there were no real people for reference, even if he had great talent, Leonardo could not have painted so vividly and delicately. Someone wants to ask, the eyes of the person in the painting are so far away from her smile, so don't argue deeply. Is that unique to him? Why can't modern people imitate it? In fact, such a question is easy to answer. Anyone who knows painting knows that portrait painting is different from character prototype. A good portrait should first reflect the interactive relationship between the author and the object of performance; The painter melts his wisdom, emotion, philosophy of life, spiritual desire and so on into the characters in the painting, and the audience will certainly read more from the picture than the real characters. After we learned about leonardo da vinci's life and his extraordinary achievements in many fields, the above problems were solved. In this case, it doesn't matter who the wife and name of the person in the painting are. She is the collection of all leonardo da vinci's artistic talents and the concentrated expression of his ideal personality. In this sense, she is not anyone's wife, she is a perfect human nature beyond the limits of convention. We can understand that Mona Lisa is a spiritual portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, but it is too vulgar to say that she is a model. Someone compared Leonardo da Vinci's self-portrait with Mona Lisa through computer technology, and found that the basic structure of the two was strikingly similar, so he concluded that the painting was based on himself. In fact, this is nitpicking. Similarity does not mean coincidence, of course, complete coincidence is impossible, just like the person in the painting is not completely the same as the real person; But different people always have similarities, similarity is the main thing, but the difference is very small; What's more, every painter always unconsciously brings his own image into the picture when describing others, because the painter is most familiar with himself; I think Leonardo da Vinci will be no exception. Having said that, there is no need to explain the remaining questions. If we look at more paintings and get in touch with painters, then irrelevant questions will not be raised.

Refuting these questions doesn't mean that the study of Mona Lisa is meaningless. As the most famous work in the history of world art, there are bound to be endless problems for future generations to discuss. People are so familiar with the Mona Lisa that it is hard to be fresh. However, people who are fascinated by this painting will get new gains every time they look at it, and the mystery is even understandable. Mona Lisa is not only the treasure of the Louvre, but also the pride of the French. At that time, the Mona Lisa was stolen, and thousands of people felt sad about it. The government designated this day as "National Disaster Day"; When it was recovered, the whole country was jubilant, and its grand occasion was no less than the rebirth of the country. Have the French forgotten that the Mona Lisa should not belong to them? In Italy, the hometown of Mona Lisa, there are immeasurable artistic treasures; It's a pity that we don't have the Mona Lisa. This is a painting with the largest number of fans in the world. Not to mention the art world, it is surprising that politicians are obsessed with her: whenever the famous President Charles de Gaulle is upset, he will drive to the Louvre to enjoy the Mona Lisa, and when he comes out, he will be all smiles, and his original troubles will be gone; On the other hand, President Pompidou publicly admitted that he could not restrain his desire for the Mona Lisa. Churchill, the great man of the century, has changed a lot, but when he was lucky enough to kiss Mona Lisa in his later years, he couldn't control his trembling fingers. Mrs. Thatcher, the Iron Lady, also has a soft spot for Mona Lisa, so she collected four fakes without appreciating the original. Seeing these facts, we will have questions: why does a small portrait have such great charm or shock? Isn't it driven by a mysterious invisible force?

Some questions are difficult to answer. Let's start with the Mona Lisa herself. The world-recognized original works are now circulating in the Louvre. When Da Vinci moved to France, he took the painting with him. After Leonardo da Vinci's death, the Mona Lisa belonged to the French royal family. After the Louvre was completed, the painting was permanently collected. However, people don't understand that the Mona Lisa we see today is not the same as originally described. Has it been tampered with by others? Indeed, there is a big gap between the paintings we see today and those painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It is said that when Napoleon got the Mona Lisa, in order to put it into a ready-made frame, he cut off the left and right sides of the picture by three centimeters; There were stone pillars on both sides of the original painting, but now I can't see them, only a little column base can be seen. It is said that Napoleon did great damage to this painting, but we don't think so today. In the eyes of modern people, the composition of Mona Lisa is perfect, the scenery behind the characters expands the screen space, sets off the inner world of the characters well, and the characters are extremely prominent; On the contrary, columns are added on both sides, feeling that the composition is dull, the vision is not broad, and the characters have lost their simplicity. It is incredible that Napoleon paid no special attention to art all his life, but left a remarkable mark on the history of art. It seems that holiness is not necessarily unshakable.

The Mona Lisa we are seeing now is tan with a slight turquoise tone. The color is plain and quiet, simple and dignified. We thought painting had always been like this, but it wasn't. According to the description of Leonardo da Vinci's contemporaries, the paintings at that time were bright in color and bright in tone. When did it become like this? At that time, the French king got the Mona Lisa, and in order to better protect it, he painted too much varnish on the surface; Hundreds of years later, the varnish turned dark brown, just like the color we see at present; The surface of this painting has cracked, forming a fine texture like a spider's web. Unfortunately, the preservation conditions are not good; However, we would rather recognize the Mona Lisa today. The simple and vigorous tone complements the quiet and introverted spiritual temperament of the characters; Dark clothes and foggy background set off the characters' faces and hands loud and moving; The even cracks add mystery to the character, which makes us more respectful and yearning for her. Some people want to remove surface grease and restore the original bright color through modern scientific and technological means; I'm just worried that the technology is not enough and I'm afraid of damaging the picture. In fact, if it is really repaired, we will find it strange and unacceptable.

Copying famous paintings is the expression of love, and Mona Lisa is copied the most in the world. Not to mention modern people's copying, there were several versions of Mona Lisa in the Da Vinci era alone, most of which were presented by Da Vinci's students or assistants. Some are clumsy and unsightly in front of the original, but there are also many excellent works. There is also a Mona Lisa in New Jersey, USA, which is very similar to the original work of the Louvre, but the composition is slightly larger, revealing the left and right stone pillars (the original composition turned out to be like this). The Mona Lisa in the painting is beautiful, pure and more human. A scholar who specializes in Mona Lisa, Leite, thinks that this painting is also made by Leonardo da Vinci, and it is the original, which shows the youthful charm of the characters; A piece in the Louvre collection, made in 15 13. Leonardo da Vinci's skills became more and more perfect in his later years, but after many years, Mona Lisa was no longer young, but a little more mature and deep. This statement is quite intriguing, but after all, it is only speculation and it is difficult to be confirmed. Most people hold negative opinions about this. Opponents believe that there are only a handful of paintings created by Leonardo da Vinci in his life, and his own works have never been repeated. However, this statement is also unconvincing. Leonardo da Vinci himself once painted two identical rock statues of the Virgin Mary. In that case, it is not absolutely impossible for him to leave two Mona Lisa. It is said that Leonardo da Vinci spent four years or more before and after painting the Mona Lisa, so it is possible that he painted one or more variant paintings during this period. There will be a special person to inspect the authenticity, and it doesn't mean anything to us to put the Mona Lisa in New Jersey and the original work of the Louvre together. The two paintings look almost the same, but careful analysis will reveal that their styles are completely different. The Mona Lisa in New Jersey looks more lively, beautiful and fresh in silence and gentleness. The characters are calm and natural, and there is no formality and rigidity that is deliberately copied; The background color contrast is big, not as subtle and calm as the original, but it is in harmony with the atmosphere of the painting. There is no doubt that this is a masterpiece, but it is thin compared with the original. When we face the original Mona Lisa, we will not feel amazing; That's not a beauty, and she doesn't look so young.

However, we will look at the picture for a long time and can't bear to divert our attention. First of all, we will be impressed by the wonderful light and shadow effects. The layering of blooming shows rich space and realistic texture, and the borderless morphological transition and color change are centuries ahead of our contemporaries. The real magic is not skill, but the mysterious smile that appears and disappears in that moment is fascinating. That smile is too shallow, no matter how close you are, you can't see it clearly; However, as long as you see the painting, no matter how far away, you can feel the smile. Smiling is not only reflected in the upturned corners of the mouth, but also in every part of the face and even every corner of the picture, so that viewers can enjoy the Mona Lisa while smiling. The feeling of facing the original is irreplaceable elsewhere, and the Mona Lisa in the Louvre is destined to be preserved forever.

This is how the Mona Lisa occupied people's hearts. Centuries have passed, and the Mona Lisa has almost become a rule, followed by countless artists. However, in the art world, if there are regular founders, there will be subversives. The 20th century is a century in which art moves towards freedom and pluralism, and many originally sacred laws are passively shaken. Look at the Mona Lisa's experience in the past 100 years: first, Toussaint drew a moustache and goatee on her beautiful face with a pencil and inscribed the letter L.H.O.O.Q; Then photographer Halsman replaced Mona Lisa's face with Dali's weird face: bulging eyes, a beard with raised eyebrows and a hand full of coins; Then Pautrot, a South American painter, painted the Mona Lisa chubby. Her face almost filled the picture like an inflatable ball, but her hands were too small to be seen. Since then, the trend of evolution has prevailed, and various "Mona Lisa" have been released. The cut Mona Lisa, the dismembered Mona Lisa, the defiled Mona Lisa and even the burned Mona Lisa have all become independent artistic creations; Others replaced the Mona Lisa with an animal head, which made people laugh and cry. With the popularization of the theory of evolution, entrepreneurs with economic minds took a fancy to the commercial value of Mona Lisa, so Mona Lisa turned into a commodity salesman. All kinds of goods from all over the world have doubled in value through the hands of Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa holds a mouse, a drink, a cigarette, a swimsuit or a wedding dress with various images on it. Whether people admire its unique imagination or despise it for distorting famous paintings, advertisements attract people's attention and businesses achieve the purpose of promoting sales. At the same time, many people like to dress up the Mona Lisa, and some countries also hold the "Mona Lisa Imitation Competition", and the winner always gets the honor. It is because of this activity that some men came up with the idea of dressing up the Mona Lisa, while others actually put it into practice. The Mona Lisa played by men makes people laugh.

This is all in recent years. In this fast-paced world dominated by cultural fast food, even the sacred classics can't escape the fate of deconstruction. It is difficult for us to judge this. Perhaps we will appreciate the creativity of designers' genius, or we may be indignant at the blasphemy of players around the world. However, these are all true things, and we have no choice but to admit them. For hundreds of years, Mona Lisa has received too many praises, which is beyond her capacity. When people's admiration for it reaches saturation and there is nothing new, distortion, ridicule and ridicule appear. However, there are articles or monographs devoted to the study and evaluation of Mona Lisa, including all kinds of inferences and speculations; In this way, a painting has become a discipline, and many people are willing to spend their whole lives. Future scientific research may answer many questions about this painting, but once the mystery disappears, everything will be as boring as solve riddles on the lanterns. After all, the Mona Lisa is a painting, a beautiful portrait, and it is enough for us to appreciate her with pious and unsolved questions.