"La Gioconda"

By: Ace Mangulabnan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa

http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_
news/1048121/italy_scientists_find
_skeleton_that_may_be_real_mona_lisa

    The Mona Lisa is without doubt the most famous work in the entire forty-thousand-year history of the visual arts. The painting features the image of a woman with her hands folded in her  lap. A glow lights up her head, face, neck and breast.The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear are the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection. 

  She is the identity of the woman pictured in the painting was not cemented until 2005, when a University of Heidelberg expert discovered a note that identified her as being Lisa del Giocondo. The Mona portion of the title comes from a shortened version of the Italian phrase ma donna ("my lady") which was similar to how we use Madam in English. Da Vinci was hired by Lisa's husband Francesco del Giocondo to create the painting. ( Epand, V. , 2006 ). Did you know that the painting has been restored many times with x-rays showing at least three versions of the images under the current one. There are concerns about the future of the painting. During its lifespan, the original frame of the work was removed and the poplar panel warped under humidity causing a crack near the top. Around the early 19th Century, an attempt was made to keep the crack from extending further by using braces on the back of the panel. Because of its sensitivity to temperature, it is now kept in a   climate controlled case.and that the painting’s subject is Lisa Gherardini, whose wealthy and presumably adoring husband Francesco Del Giocondo commissioned the work. This explains the less prevalent title for this painting, La Gioconda. The name Mona Lisa (or Monna Lisa, as the Italians prefer) roughly translates to "My Lady Lisa.” and the French emperor once had Mona Lisa hanging in his bedroom, where he'd presumably revel in her beauty for untold hours. It's said his fascination with the painting inspired his affection for a pretty Italian named Teresa Guadagni, who was actually a descendant of Lisa Gherardini and some claim the subject’s lack of eyebrows is representative of high-class fashion of the time. Others insist her AWOL eyebrows are proof that Mona Lisa is an unfinished masterpiece. But in 2007 ultra detailed digital scans of the painting revealed da Vinci had painted on eyebrows and bolder eyelashes. Both had simply faded over time or had fallen victim to years of restoration work.

    Also the Mona Lisa has been subject to various acts of vandalism and theft. The first theft attempt came in 1911 when it disappeared from its position in the Louvre. Suspects were brought in- including Pablo Picasso but the painting wasn't recovered for two years. The thief was a museum employee and Italian patriot who believed the work should be returned to its home country and put on display. The painting was purposefully moved during World War II when it was relocated for its own safety.

http://crunchmodo.com/30-worth-
smile-mona-lisa-art-pictures/

   The Mona Lisa's famous smile represents the sitter in the same way that the juniper branches represent Ginevra Benci and the ermine represents Cecilia Gallerani in their portraits, in Washington and Krakow respectively. It is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word "gioconda" in Italian. Leonardo made this notion of happiness the central motif of the portrait: it is this notion which makes the work such an ideal. The nature of the landscape also plays a role. The middle distance, on the same level as the sitter's chest, is in warm colors. Men live in this space: there is a winding road and a bridge.

  This space represents the transition between the space of the sitter and the far distance, where the landscape becomes a wild and uninhabited space of rocks and water which stretches to the horizon, which Leonardo has cleverly drawn at the level of the sitter's eyes.It is thus through Mona Lisa as portrayed by da Vinci that it becomes evident how a work of art can be so significant in communication , engagement of the audience and eliciting various thematic expressions and feelings in a very significant manner.