Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous

The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most recognizable piece of art in the world, but have you ever wondered just why the Mona Lisa is so famous? There are a number of reasons behind this works enduring fame, and combined, they create a fascinating story that has survived through the ages. To understand why the Mona Lisa remains one of the art worlds most iconic images, we have to look at her mysterious history, famous theft attempts, and innovative art techniques. Interesting Facts: The Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci and is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco Giocondo.For such a famous painting, it is surprisingly small; it measures just 30 inches by 21 inches (77 cm by 53 cm).The painting uses a number of unique art techniques to draw the viewer in; Leonardos skill is sometimes referred to as the Mona Lisa Effect.The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, and wasnt recovered for over two years; she is now housed behind bulletproof glass to protect her from vandals. The Mona Lisas Origins The Mona Lisa was painted over the course of several years by Leonardo da Vinci, the Florentine polymath and artist who created some of the Renaissances most iconic works. Born Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci in 1452, he was the illegitimate son of a nobleman, and although there is little information about his childhood, scholars do know that as a young man he was apprenticed to an artist and sculptor named Andrea di Cione del Verrocchio. He created many sophisticated pieces of art over the course of his career, and in the early 1500s, began work on what would come to be known as the Mona Lisa. Unlike many artworks of the time, the Mona Lisa is not painted on canvas. Instead, she is painted on a poplar wood panel. While this may seem odd, keep in mind that Leonardo was a sculptor and artist who had painted on large walls of plaster throughout much of his career, so a wooden panel probably wasnt much of a stretch for him. It is generally believed that the painting is of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. The word mona is a colloquial version of the Italian word for madam or maam, hence the title Mona Lisa. The works alternate title is La Giaconda. It is believed that the painting was commissioned by Giocondo to commemorate the birth of the couples second child. Over the years, there have been theories that Lisa Gherardini was not in fact the model in this painting. Speculation abounds that the mysterious woman in the image could be any one of a dozen Italian noblewomen of the time; there is even a popular theory that the Mona Lisa is a feminized version of Leonardo himself. However, a note written in 1503 by Agostino Vespucci, an Italian clerk who was assistant to  Niccolà ² Machiavelli, indicates that Leonardo told Vespucci he was indeed working on a painting of del Giocondos wife. In general, art historians agree that the Mona Lisa really is Lisa Gherardini. Scholars also agree that Leonardo created more than one version of the Mona Lisa; in addition to the del Giocondo commission, there was likely a second commissioned by Giuliano de Medici in 1513. The Medici version is believed to be the one that hangs in the Louvre today. Unique Art Techniques ilbusca / Getty Images Unlike some artwork of the sixteenth century, the Mona Lisa is a very realistic portrait of a very real human being. Alicja Zelazko  of Encyclopedia Britannica attributes this to Leonardos skill with a brush, and his use of art techniques that were new and exciting during the Renaissance. She says, The subject’s softly sculptural face shows Leonardo’s skillful handling of  sfumato, an artistic technique that uses subtle gradations of light and shadow to model form, and shows his understanding of the skull beneath the skin. The delicately painted veil, the finely wrought tresses, and the careful rendering of folded fabric reveal Leonardo’s studied observations and inexhaustible patience.   In addition to the use of sfumato, which was rarely done at the time, the woman in the portrait has an enigmatic expression on her face. At once both aloof and alluring, her soft smile actually changes, depending on the angle from which the viewer is looking. Thanks to differences in  spatial frequency  perception within the human eye, from one viewpoint she looks cheerful... and from another, the viewer cant quite tell if shes happy or not. The Mona Lisa  is also the earliest Italian portrait in which the subject is framed in a half-length portrait; the womans arms and hands are displayed without touching the frame. She is shown only from head to waist, sitting in a chair; her left arm rests on the arm of the chair. Two fragmentary columns frame her, creating a window effect that looks out over the landscape behind her.   Finally, thanks to Leonardo’s mastery of lighting and shadows, the womans eyes appear to follow the viewer wherever they may be standing. Leonardo wasnt the first to create the appearance that a subjects eyes are following people around the room, but the effect is so closely associated with  his skill that it has become known—somewhat incorrectly—as the Mona Lisa Effect. Grand Theft Painting Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images For centuries, the Mona Lisa hung quietly in the Louvre, generally unnoticed, but on August 21, 1911, it was stolen right off the museums wall in a heist that rocked the art world. Author Seymour Reit says, Someone walked into the Salon Carrà ©, lifted it off the wall and went out with it! The painting was stolen Monday morning, but the interesting thing about it was that it wasnt til Tuesday at noon that they first realized it was gone. Once the theft was discovered, the Louvre closed for a week so investigators could piece together the puzzle. Initially, conspiracy theories were everywhere: the Louvre had staged the heist as a publicity stunt, Pablo Picasso was behind it, or perhaps French poet Guillaume Apollinaire had taken the painting. The French police blamed the Louvre for lax security, while the Louvre publicly ridiculed law enforcement officials for failing to turn up any leads. After more than two years, in late 1913, a Florentine art dealer named Alfredo Geri received a letter from a man who claimed to have the painting. Geri immediately contacted the police, who soon arrested Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian carpenter who had been working at the Louvre at the time of the theft. Peruggia admitted that he had simply lifted the masterpiece from the four hooks upon which it hung, stuck it under his workmans tunic, and just walked out the door of the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was found tucked safely away in Peruggias apartments, just a few blocks from the museum. Peruggia said he stole the painting because it belonged in an Italian museum rather than a French one. There were also rumors he had taken it so that a forger could make copies of it to sell on the black market. Once the Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre, the French turned out in droves to see her, and soon, so did people from all over the globe. The small, simple painting of a maybe-smiling woman had become an overnight sensation, and was the most famous work of art in the world. Since the 1913 theft, the Mona Lisa has been the target of other activities. In 1956, someone threw acid on the painting, and in another attack the same year, a rock was thrown at it, causing a small bit of damage at the subjects left elbow. In 2009, a Russian tourist flung a terra cotta mug at the painting; no damage was done, because Mona Lisa has been behind bulletproof glass for several decades. The Most Famous Face in the World digitalimagination / Getty Images The Mona Lisa has influenced countless painters, from Leonardos contemporaries to todays modern artists. In the centuries since her creation, the Mona Lisa has been copied thousands of times over by artists around the world. Marcel Duchamp took a postcard of Mona Lisa and added a mustache and a goatee. Other modern masters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali painted their own versions of her, and artists have painted her in every conceivable manner, including as a dinosaur, a unicorn, one of Saturday Night Lives Coneheads, and wearing sunglasses and Mickey Mouse ears. Although it is impossible to put a dollar amount on a 500-year-old painting, it is estimated that the Mona Lisa is worth nearly $1 billion. Sources Hales, Dianne. â€Å"The 10 Worst Things That Happened to Mona Lisa.†Ã‚  The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 5 Aug. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/dianne-hales/the-10-worst-things-mona-lisa_b_5628937.html.â€Å"How To Steal A Masterpiece and Other Art Crimes.†Ã‚  The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 Oct. 1981, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1981/10/11/how-to-steal-a-masterpiece-and-other-art-crimes/ef25171f-88a4-44ea-8872-d78247b324e7/?noredirectonutm_term.27db2b025fd5.â€Å"Theft of the Mona Lisa.†Ã‚  PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/mona_nav/main_monafrm.html.â€Å"Work Mona Lisa – Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, Wife of Francesco Del Giocondo.†Ã‚  The Seated Scribe | Louvre Museum | Paris, www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mona-lisa-portrait-lisa-gherardini-wife-francesco-del-giocondo.

Ct Scans And Its Effects On The Human Body - 1147 Words

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One of the Most Incredibly Ignored Systems for Comparative Essay Topics

One of the Most Incredibly Ignored Systems for Comparative Essay Topics It is preferable to steer clear of topics that are overdone. Don't neglect to check the access to resources the topics that you consider. The topics should be specific. College application essay topics are a crucial portion of an entertaining and compelling bit of writing. Comparative Essay Topics Fundamentals Explained The variety of body paragraphs you write will be contingent on the structure of your compare and contrast essay along with the quantity of similarities and contrasts you decide to highlight. One reason which make it a lot easier to find comparison essay ideas is CustomWritings.com. If you're going to write a comparative essay, you want to get a notion of the impacts of distinct aspects to the result which you might get at the conclusion of the writing activity. So without further ado, here are a few effective writing tips to produce your common app essay stick out! If you don't find out how to begin your essay or where to search for supporting data, we'll be pleased to help you. The paper you've been requested to write on is comparison and therefore, it's important you realize the characteristics of such paper. The assignment sheet may say precisely what you have to compare, or it might request that you produce a foundation for comparison yourself. The Appeal of Comparative Essay Topics Categories, essay topics could possibly be divided into. Researching the topic permits you to find out more about what fascinates you, and should you pick something you truly like, writing the essay will be more enjoyable. You've got to write another essay. Narrative essays don't have such arguments. There's no ideal solution about how to compose an effective essay. If you wish to obtain a comparative essay from a trustworthy on-line company, you've chosen the perfect one. Every fantastic essay starts with a fantastic brainstorm. Therefore, it's critical to have a very good comparative essay outline in place. With Fergusson, there are various topic sentences in 1 paragraph. It isn't always easy to choose a very good topic and story for this kind of essay. You need to be very careful when choosing an essay topic. There are numerous essay types, and at times the topic itself is as essential as the form of the essay you're assigned. What Everybody Dislikes About Comparative Essay Topics and Why Finding the subject of your interest can help you work harder on your project and show your style in the simplest way possible. If you still have issues with topic selection, don't hesitate to request help at GradeMiners. When you're picking your topic, bear in mind that it's much simpler to write about something which you currently have interest ineven in case you don't know a good deal about it. Deciding on a topic is a critical issue that partly estimates final success of the job. The Argument About Comparative Essay Topics It's not sufficient to settle on a topic which everybody agrees on. Try out another topic and do the identical 5-minute writing test till you locate a topic you know it is easy to write on. Still, you need to make your topic more specific. There are far more interesting approaches to lead into your topic. Comparative Essay Topics for Dummies There are a lot of kinds of essays, it is not hard to eliminate an eye on all your writing assignments. The readers should realize that you have in-depth understanding of the area. You may even group the exact same observations with each other to conserve the interest of the readers till the conclusion of your essay. For instance, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing perspective. It's important to select debatable argumentative essay topics since you need opposing points you could counter to your own points. Now look at the 2 lists you have made.

Art Spiegelmans Nature Vs. Nurture Essay Example For Students

Art Spiegelmans Nature Vs. Nurture Essay I enjoy the work of Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman uses the playful medium of comic books in order to communicate his thoughts and feeling on more serious topics. He is the only person to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for a comic book. In Nature vs. Nurture Spiegelman explores the issue of gender and how much influence a parent has, (nurture), over what is innate with a child. In this entry I will describe this comic strip and give my opinion of what Spiegelmans thoughts are on the subject of nature vs. nurture. The comic strip features an academic looking father and his three or four-year-old daughter. The strip begins with the father watching his daughter play with her doll. The girls speech bubble says, Poor baby sleepy? Okayà mama gonna sing you a lullabye! The father responds with, C,mon, Nadja. You dont just want to play with toys that reinforce preconceived gender roles, do you, sweetie? After his little speech he brings his daughter a toy fire engine to play with. In order to get little Nadja fired up about the new toy the father gets down on the floor and shows her how everything works. He clangs the bell and orders passersby out of the way. The father is having a very good time playing with the toy but finally turns it over to his daughter. After looking at the fire truck for just a moment Nadjas speech bubble says, Poor little truckie!Mamas gonna wrap you inna blankee and give you a little bottle. The poor father heaves a sigh and looks thoroughly beaten. In this comic strip, I think Spiegelman is pointing out that we are who we are. I believe Spiegelman is arguing nature over nurture. In this particular strip he has an educated father trying to get his daughter to play with a truck. I find this interesting for two reasons. First, he is showing that the father has an active interest in not wanting his daughter to be limited to girl things. This is interesting because generally speaking, I believe most men would like to keep gender roles cemented in place. The second interesting thing I found, is that Spiegelman chooses to use a young girl instead of a boy. Typically when I think of people trying to equalize gender roles in children, I think of young boys. We are always trying to soften up our boys by taking away their guns and making sure they have dolls to play with, and for girls we generally offer gender neutral things, like, doctor sets and drums. Very rarely do I see people giving their girls toys designed for boys. You can see in this comic strip that the father really likes playing with the truck, maybe he is lost in his own childhood memories and wants to be able to share the excitement he felt as a boy with his daughter. I believe Spiegelman does a nice job of showing how we as parents need to accept our children for who they are. That each child is born with a personality and identity unique to them and even though as parents we might like our children to be something else, we must accept them the way they are. Even though Spiegelmans Nature vs. Nurture is short, I believe it is a powerful statement of how we perceive not only our children but other people in general. We must be willing to accept another persons individuality despite our own disappointment when our expectations are not met. As Im sure our professorial father did in this comic strip.