descriptive essay about mona lisa

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa Painting Analysis

Mona lisa analysis: essay introduction, mona lisa painting analysis: description, mona lisa analysis: essay conclusion.

Name of the painting: Mona Lisa

Name of the artist: Leonardo da Vinci

Dates created: 1504-1506

Mona Lisa is one of the most prominent and recognizable paintings in the world and is considered the greatest masterpiece of its author, Leonardo da Vinci. Created in 1503, the painting has been discussed for centuries by artists, academics, medics, and the general public (Mehra & Campbell, 2018). A vast amount of the painting’s interpretations already exist, and some are still being proposed nowadays. However, this paper mostly aims to explore the central theme, subject, and message of the Mona Lisa .

Da Vinci’s masterpiece was written during the Renaissance, and thus, was strongly influenced by the ideas of that period. The philosophy of the Renaissance placed a human in the center of the world; that is why portraits were so popular with Italian masters of the 15 th and 16 th centuries. Leonardo was among the first artists to capture a person sitting in front of the fictional landscape. Even though Mona Lisa is reminiscent of Madonna, it is still clear that the painter tried to depict an ordinary person. For creating this painting, Leonardo used a technique called “sfumato.” This term refers to the technique of oil painting that allows achieving a soft transition from one color to another. The great combination of the woman and the landscape in Mona Lisa is due to this technique (Da Vinci, n.d.). Therefore, this work by Leonardo may be considered not as a classical portrait, and this is what makes it unique among other paintings of a similar genre.

Mona Lisa has an outstanding impact on various types of Western art, but there were some things that shaped Leonardo’s work as well. As it was already mentioned, the Renaissance period had a strong effect on Leonardo’s works. The painter portrayed a real woman who was not consistent with medieval Christian philosophy. Leonardo is also famous for creating paintings on religious themes, but Mona Lisa does not depict another Madonna. The painting shows a typical woman of Leonardo’s age which confirms his commitment to the humanistic vision of the world. Therefore, it is impossible to omit the influence of this woman on Leonardo’s painting. Most critics and researchers agree that Mona Lisa portrays an Italian woman Lisa Gherardini. She was the wife of a rich merchant who ordered her portrait from Leonardo. This happened soon after Lisa gave birth to a child (Kemp & Pallanti, 2017). This might partly explain why Leonardo depicted the woman smiling.

I have always appreciated Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, but after careful examination, I discovered a new meaning in it. Being aware of the story behind the painting helps to understand it better and makes it more interesting to observe. When you know which person is portrayed in the painting, it is possible to enter his or her life for some time and experience the feelings that he or she had. It is also essential to consider the social and philosophical contest in which the painting was written. It might be hard to realize the significance of the Mona Lisa for the history of art if you do not know that it was one of the first portraits that depicted a real person. Undoubtedly, one can enjoy a painting even if one is not aware of its background. However, once you have become familiar with the painting’s story, you may start to value the piece of art even more.

This paper did not attempt to discover or propose new interpretations of the Mona Lisa . I tried to focus on the main factors that influenced Leonardo’s masterpiece as well as study the most crucial features of the painting. Now that I have become aware of the fact that Leonardo was one of the first Renaissance masters to combine a regular person with the landscape, I can appreciate the painting not only from the artistic perspective but also from the historical.

Da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa .

Kemp, M., & Pallanti, G. (2017). Mona Lisa: The people and the painting . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Mehra, M. R., & Campbell, H.R. (2018). The Mona Lisa decrypted: Allure of an Imperfect Reality. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 93 (9), 1325-1327.

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Bibliography

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The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting Essay

This paper will provide a rhetoric analysis of the Mona Lisa painting, because it has rendered its audience into a redundant situation where the individual who admires this painting always ends up in his or her own interpretation or assumption of the different meanings of the image.

This is a painting that has received mixed responses from scholars, art lovers, and unfussy viewers of the painting. This has led the painting to being involved into a process that has attracted, what can be termed as a celebration from “pregnancy” to “morning.”

As the painting has been subject to wear and tear just like other paintings, it has endured over times and emerge as one of the most remarkable paintings, and which is characterized as a unique painting that has the most fascinating features.

Mona Lisa painting may sometimes be described as a definitive art; this is because it has nearly all qualities and properties of the art-painting (Barolsky 62). For this reason, the Mona Lisa art happens to be viewed as one of the well-regarded paintings in the world.

The proportions of the face and body are indeed perfect. The painting represents a feeling of completeness, as it incorporates all elements of art that is well engineered (64). The use of colors in the portrait of Mona Lisa brings out the art to full perfection revealing Da Vinci’s artistic skills.

The analysis of Mona Lisa revolves around a portrait of a woman who has a mysterious facial expression. Many art critiques believe that the smile of a woman is hiding some secrets. Her hands are seen to be folded across her bosom; her breast, face, and neck are well illuminated with the same light models.

The availability of light gives different shades in the foreground, middle, and background surfaces. Da Vinci used the sfumato technique in this painting; he created shadowy areas upon which the shapes blend over each other.

Interpretation of the meaning of this piece of art created by Da Vinci reveals a detailed piece of work, imagination, a gift in painting, and high in accuracy (Barolsky, 63). One may well believe that Da Vinci could has been motivated by a personal curiosity to paint a perfect woman who represented the epoch in which he lived.

A notable woman has numerous secrets but never reveals them. The smile on the woman’s face reveals that she is holding some secrets that are a misery to reveal. Mona Lisa painting can be judged as one of the most famous and viewed pieces of art.

The painting portrays a calm woman who is seating peacefully in front of the painter. The art clearly shows a distance between the portrait and the observer (66). This is brought out by the armrest of the chair that serves as division between the observer and Mona Lisa.

Looking at Mona Lisa painting from different positions, her facial expressions seem to change; it is so astounding that Da Vinci captured several emotional and character qualities in a single painting. It is the main reason why different meanings are provided by different people who look at Mona Lisa painting.

This piece of art appeals to the viewer on many levels describing the subject of the theme in a much simple, familiar, and pleasant manner.

The reality about Mona Lisa painting is that it has proven fact that whenever individuals set up their mind in discovering its secrets, they certainly disclose whatever they would want to find in the image. The painting offers its viewers a prospect of viewing the differences arising from viewing the work as an art, or in a reality perspective (Barolsky, 64).

Careful analysis of the paintings of the Mona Lisa reveals a woman sitting in an imaginary landscape that has factored in the aerial perspective. Behind the woman in the painting, there are mountains, paths and bridge that gives an impression of human presence. The rivers and valleys seen on the background of the Mona Lisa painting are entirely echoed by the hair and the worn clothing.

This enables the portrait to draw a natural and affectionate appeal to individuals who come across it. To a large extent, the portrait reveals an idealistic rather than realistic woman (66). The harmony achieved in this painting is in the form of a smile that links the nature and humanity.

If one looks closer at the Mona Lisa painting, he/she will notice that she lacks the eyelashes and the eyebrows. This may have been left intentionally by the painter or may have happened as a result of the painter forgetting to put the final touches on the painting. However, careful analysis of the painting on the left eyebrows region, one notices a masterful use of brush strokes.

To attain this deceptive mile, Da Vinci used different blends of shades in order to blur the outlines (Barolsky 62). It is the masterful use of shades that have fascinated many artists in the world. Today, many artists use this idea to deliver the messages that they want their viewers to get.

The painting depicts a woman gazing at viewers at different angles, no matter whether these viewers are relative to the painting or not. From the historical point of view, it is believed that Da Vinci took four years to come up with the full painting of Mona Lisa.

The facial expression shows how Da Vinci has mastered the use of tones and colors in the painting. Some artists argue that this painting portrays the painter in one’s feminism form, or maybe it is the picture of his secret admirer (Barolsky 65). However, it is a mythological point of view, and it is the reason why many artists interpret the Mona Lisa’s smile in different ways.

On the other hand, Mona Lisa may be seen as being portrayed by Da Vinci as a saint and, to some extent, a higher being (Barolsky 62). Cross examination of Mona Liza painting portrays a young woman, but somewhat insecure.

The painting is also representational because the painting represents human traits, which can have bad and good aspects. Since bad and good representations are well illuminated in human nature, the painting may be attractive to a wide range of the target audience, which may vary from the art lovers, historians, and any scholar who is interested in conducting research to reveal some of the painting’s hidden aspects.

The art is engaging, as one tries to get the inner meaning of this art, he or she becomes rejuvenated by its strong realism and rhetoric nature, which probably makes people desire to discover more inner implication.

To wrap this analysis of Mona Lisa work by Da Vinci depicts a range of characteristics. From what one sees from the art, it is clear that the author used art to depict several meanings in the paintings that are evident.

The painter has instituted a spirited reality into the image, which has been fabricated to being an image that can, by no means, be replaced by any other painting. Mona Lisa painting can be denoted as one of the utmost art of all times, this is because it one of the arts that has risen most curiosity among the artist.

Works Cited

Barolsky, Paul. Why Mona Lisa Smiles and Other Tales by Vasari. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 1987.

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IvyPanda. (2023, November 2). The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ambiguity-of-mona-lisa-painting/

"The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting." IvyPanda , 2 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/the-ambiguity-of-mona-lisa-painting/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting'. 2 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ambiguity-of-mona-lisa-painting/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ambiguity-of-mona-lisa-painting/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Ambiguity of Mona Lisa Painting." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ambiguity-of-mona-lisa-painting/.

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Geologist says she knows the Mona Lisa's setting. But not everyone is convinced

Ann pizzorusso used da vinci's notebooks to follow in his footsteps, leading her to the mountain city of lecco.

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While many art historians have focused on the woman in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa , Ann Pizzorusso has a different obsession — the mountain ridges in the background.

Pizzorusso, a geologist and Italian Renaissance scholar, says she combined her two fields of expertise to pinpoint the exact setting of Da Vinci's most iconic painting.

"By using geology as an analytical tool, it opened up the art world to me because, while I couldn't comment on brushstrokes or figures, I could certainly look at the rocks," Pizzorusso, an independent scholar based in New York and Italy, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

The background, she says, depicts the Alps overlooking the Italian city of Lecco on Lake Como, and its 14th-century Azzone Visconti bridge.

Her theory, which she presented at a geology conference in Lecco this week, has been embraced by several Renaissance art historians. 

But it is one of several running theories about the painting's setting — a debate that one leading Da Vinci scholar says is misguided and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the artist's work. 

Da Vinci, the geologist

Da Vinci was known for having expertise in a wide range of subject matters and has been described, among other things, as an artist, draughtsman, architect and engineer. 

But Pizzorusso has bestowed him with another title — "the father of geology."

"I have analyzed every painting in which he has had a rock in it, and it's perfect," she said. "It's like looking at a photograph."

She's previously published books and papers examining geological depictions in Da Vinci's art, including Geologic Representations in the Virgin and Child with St. Anne, and  Leonardo's Geology: The Authenticity of the Virgin of the Rock.

Many of the previous theories, she says, focused on finding the bridge in the background. But there are hundreds of antique bridges with similar Roman style architecture in Italy. 

"So you can't just find a bridge," she said. "Once you find a bridge, you have to understand whether Leonardo was in that area. Then you have to determine if the geology is correct in the background. Then you have to make sure you have some water."

It was in Lecco 20 years ago, with the help of an Alps tour guide, that she found all three elements.

"We went up into the mountains, and when we came back to Lecco that night, we said, 'Look at this. This is the Mona Lisa,'" she said.

She says that, 250 million years ago, the area was all ocean. But over time, coral salified into limestone mountain ridges, and melting glaciers carved out lakes. 

"It's these glacial lakes that ribbon through the back of the Mona Lisa with these large sawtooth mountains coming out of the background," she said. 

Da Vinci scholar says there is no exact location

While she has long believed she solved the mystery of the Mona Lisa 's setting, she says she was compelled to present her theory publicly for the first time at the behest of art historian Jacques Franck, a former Leonardo consultant to the Louvre, who is working on a book about Da Vinci.

"I don't doubt for one second that Pizzorusso is right in her theory, given her perfect knowledge of the geology of the Italian country — and more precisely of the places where Leonardo travelled in his lifetime, which could correspond to the mountainous landscape in the Mona Lisa," Franck told the Guardian newspaper.

But not everyone is convinced. 

British art historian Martin Kemp, one of the world's leading Da Vinci scholars, says "the impulse to find a real place that Leonardo is portraying in the Mona Lisa and other of his paintings is pretty insatiable" — but, ultimately, he says, misguided.

While he agrees Da Vinci had a passion for geology and a tendency to depict nature with remarkable accuracy, that doesn't mean he's portraying "actually specific, identifiable landscapes."

"He's looking at real things with incredible intensity, but he then remakes them in painting. Why he should put a landscape of Albinor or a landscape of Arezzo or landscape of wherever is completely unclear," he said.

"It's a bit like saying in portraying Madonna, that he's portrayed a picture of the girl next door."

Martin says he appreciates efforts to examine Da Vinci's art through a geographical lens, "but to target it to get the location of the images is just fanciful."

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One thing Kemp and Pizzorusso agree on is that the Mona Lisa is a work that continues to resonate throughout the eras, spawning countless theories and interpretations, and compelling people to try and solve its many mysteries. 

"He puts an enormous amount of poetic truth into painting, he puts a lot of scientific truth … and he, in a sense, invites the reader in to explore the picture," Kemp said.

"The legends, the myths, the stories of Mona Lisa are absolutely extraordinary."  

Interview with Ann Pizzorusso produced by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes

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¿Dónde posó la ‘Mona Lisa’? Tal vez en Lecco

Esta idílica ciudad de Italia, a orillas del Lago Como, sería el escenario donde fue retratado el enigmático personaje de Leonardo da Vinci.

Por Ali Watkins

Ha sido embadurnada con pastel y rociada con ácido. Vigilantes la han robado y manifestantes le han lanzado sopa . La han iluminado con láser y la han pinchado, la han exhibido para las masas y la han relegado a su propia galería en el sótano . Más recientemente, miles de personas han instado al multimillonario Jeff Bezos a comprarla y luego comérsela .

Parece que los misterios de la Mona Lisa —el cuadro de Leonardo da Vinci que ha cautivado durante siglos a los amantes del arte, a los buitres de la cultura y al resto de nosotros— no tienen fin. ¿Quién es? (Probablemente Lisa Gherardini, esposa de un noble italiano). ¿Está sonriendo? (La respuesta breve: más o menos .) ¿Pretendía Da Vinci originalmente pintarla de otro modo, con el pelo recogido o en una bata de enfermera ?

Aunque muchas cosas sobre el asunto más enigmático del mundo del arte han quedado relegadas al reino de lo insondable, ahora, en un extraño cruce de arte y geología, puede que haya un misterio menos: dónde estaba cuando Da Vinci la pintó.

Según Ann Pizzorusso, geóloga y estudiosa del arte del Renacimiento, el personaje de Da Vinci posa en Lecco, Italia, una idílica ciudad a orillas del lago de Como. La conclusión, según Pizzorusso, es obvia; ella se dio cuenta hace años, pero nunca se percató de su importancia.

“Vi la topografía cercana a Lecco y me di cuenta de que era el lugar”, dijo.

El anodino fondo tiene algunas características importantes; entre ellas, un puente medieval que la mayoría de los estudiosos han considerado la clave del escenario de Da Vinci. Pero, según Pizzorusso, son más bien la forma del lago y la piedra caliza gris blanquecina las que delatan a Lecco como el hogar espiritual del cuadro.

“Un puente es fungible”, dijo Pizzorusso. “Hay que combinar el puente con un lugar en el que estuvo Leonardo y la geología”.

Esas características eran tan claras para Pizzorusso que hace años, en un viaje a Lecco, llegó a la conclusión de que el pintoresco pueblo a orillas de un lago era el escenario de la obra maestra de Da Vinci. Supuso que esos hechos eran evidentes, según digo. No fue hasta que un colega se dirigió a ella en busca de información sobre los posibles escenarios de la Mona Lisa cuando Pizzorusso se dio cuenta de que sus conclusiones tenían mérito académico.

“Se lo decía a la gente, pero nunca hice nada al respecto”, comentó. Ahora, sin embargo, la tecnología cartográfica ha hecho que su tesis sea más aceptable.

“Todo ha conspirado para que mi idea sea mucho más demostrable”, dijo desde Lecco, donde presentará formalmente sus conclusiones en un evento sobre geología.

Sin embargo, estos secretos son inherentes a la intriga que rodea al venerado lienzo. Durante siglos, la Mona Lisa ha confundido, deleitado, decepcionado y desconcertado a artistas y amantes del arte. A medida que sus famosos bordes suaves se vuelven existencialmente más afilados, quizá debamos preguntarnos: ¿Amamos al cuadro o a sus misterios?

“En Lecco llevan años hablando de esto”, dijo Donald Sassoon, profesor de Historia europea comparada. Señaló un artículo de 2016 en un sitio de noticias local italiano de un erudito de Lecco que identificó características geográficas similares a las señaladas por Pizzorusso.

“Yo no me molestaría”, en hacerlo dijo Sassoon cuando se le preguntó acerca de informar sobre el hallazgo de Pizzorusso. “Identificar la ubicación no tendría ninguna repercusión”.

Para Pizzorusso, sin embargo, la conclusión tiene menos que ver con el arte que con la humanidad. En las discretas pistas de la Mona Lisa , Da Vinci se revela no solo como un hábil pintor, dijo, sino también como un estudiante tediosamente cuidadoso de la ciencia y la geología.

“Cada vez que pinta una roca”, dijo Pizzorusso, “es preciso”.

Ali Watkins es reportera de la sección Metropolitana; cubre temas relacionados con la delincuencia y la aplicación de la ley en Nueva York. Antes fue reportera de seguridad nacional en el buró de Washington para el Times, BuzzFeed y McClatchy Newspapers. Más de Ali Watkins

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Christie’s Recovering from Security Breach, Vatican Museums Staff Launch Legal Dispute, a ‘Mona Lisa’ Discovery, and More: Morning Links for May 13, 2024

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A Renaissance art scholar has discovered where the model for Leonardo da Vinci ‘s Mona Lisa sat for the portrait. According to Ann Pizzorusso , she was sitting in Lecco, Italy, near Lake Como. “I saw the topography near Lecco and realized this was the location,” due to the lake’s shape and gray-white limestone, and the artist’s geological precision, she told the New York Times . [ The New York Times ]

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