StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Leornardos Mona Lisa as the Aesthetic Work Ever - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Leornardos Mona Lisa as the Aesthetic Work Ever" highlights that the intention of analyzing the Mona Lisa is to inform the upcoming artists that a creative piece of artwork can be developed using simple and natural medium and that messages can be relayed to the audience in pictorial form…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.3% of users find it useful
Leornardos Mona Lisa as the Aesthetic Work Ever
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Leornardos Mona Lisa as the Aesthetic Work Ever"

The account of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is embedded in mystery because of several factors such as the time frame in which the actual painting took place, how it was acquired by the French royal, the period that Leonardo kept the portrait, the exact identity of the portrait, and the real person who commissioned the work. There is a consensus among historians that the Mona Lisa was done between 1503 and 1519. The painting was requested by Francesco Del Giocondo, the subject’s husband and a rich silk merchant. Lisa Gherardini, who was Giocondo’s wife, came from a prominent family. The Mona Lisa is thought to have been painted to celebrate the completion of the couple’s house in 1503 and to mark the birth of Andrea, the couple’s second son, in 1502. The identity of the portrait had been a subject of speculation but in 2005, its real identity was discovered(Earls 113).

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a beautiful lady. The lady’s hair is covered by a delicate dark cloak. During the renaissance period, a dark veil was considered a mourning veil and may have been representing the subject’s mourning for her daughter who died in 1549. Her clothing is simple. The scarp that is wrapped around her shoulders, the pleated gown, and the yellow sleeve do not show any signs of nobility. The Mona Lisa was painted based on a realistic scale. The portrait is half-length and the woman is presented from the head to the waist. She is sitting in an armchair while her left arm is resting on the chair’s arm.

The arm of the chair is situated in front of the loggia, which is characterized by two fragmentary pillars that form the frame of the figure and form a window that faces the background. The aesthetic nature of this artwork highlights the influence of Lombard and Florentine art of the late 15th century and early 16th century. Aspects of artwork such as the architectural settings, hands put together in the forefront, and the view of the portrait against the landscape was common in Flemish portraits of the late 15th century. However, Leonardo managed to introduce several unique and special features in The Mona Lisa. The new features are the sheer equilibrium of the painting, the monumentality, and the atmospheric illusionism exhibited by the Mona Lisa (Kemp 79).

The Mona Lisa is a unique oil painting whose surface consists of cottonwood panels unlike most of the paintings that were done by other artists during Leonardo’s period, which were commonly commissioned as oil on canvas. The use of cottonwood panels as the surface of the Mona Lisa is one of the factors that have been attributed to its fame. In addition, the cottonwood panel medium has contributed to its durability. The Mona Lisa has survived for six centuries without any alteration or repair, a factor that makes it different from other artworks. Although most of the renaissance period artworks denoted biblical themes, the Mona Lisa did not portray any religious theme but was created to mark Giocondo’s achievements (Earls 114). The painting shows Leonardo’s mastery of using identifiable marks when presenting his artwork.

The use of the shadowing technique at the corners of the eyes and lips gives the portrait a look of a delight and lifelike appearance. Leonardo also developed a background that had attractive scenery and an aerial view. The technique used by Leonardo when painting did not leave any visible brush marks, a fact that makes the Mona Lisa a real masterpiece. The beaming smile by Lisa is a visual depiction of joy, which is suggested by the Italian word “Gioconda”. Da Vince used the concept of happiness as his key theme when creating the portrait. In addition, the motif of happiness is also represented by the use of warm colors and the spectacular nature of the landscape (Kemp 72).

In conclusion, the Mona Lisa is one of the most aesthetic works ever developed during the renaissance period. The creative use of colors, the spectacular landscape, and the joyful appearance of Lisa Gherardini highlight the theme of happiness. The Mona Lisa shows that Leonardo Da Vinci was a great artist. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Mona Lisa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1459981-mona-lisa
(Mona Lisa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/english/1459981-mona-lisa.
“Mona Lisa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1459981-mona-lisa.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Leornardos Mona Lisa as the Aesthetic Work Ever

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Name The "mona lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci The painting of mona lisa officially began in Florence, a small a small town in Italy in the year 1503 by an artist commonly known as Leonardo da Vinci.... Since Leonardo's death, speculation has been carried out concerning mona lisa's stylistic motifs and the landscape to which it was painted.... According to many, Leonardo did not paint mona lisa faithfully as her beauty did not match or surpass that of the fifteenth and the twenty first century....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Ginevra de Benci

the aesthetic perfection can be seen but more to it, there seems to be a lot which can be partially deciphered from the portrait.... The researcher of this essay "Ginevra de Benci" provides the analysis which involve through scrutiny of the work, it's seen that this portrait is one of Leonardo's masterpiece on the art history and it contributes immensely on the history of art hence its significance.... The analysis of the piece of work as well as its quality is done to the detail so as determine its importance in the art history....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

What is art Aspects of the definition of art

There are theories present that confirm that content can be an effective contribution to the aesthetic value of artwork.... The object of questioning used by Marcel was purely based on the aesthetic view and the high level of aesthetic excellence that can be used as the instance of art.... This formal relation can be between its constitutive elements such as relationship between line, colors, volume and masses in the form of visual art work for e....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Do Great Works Survive Because They Are Great

The paper "Do Great Works Survive Because They Are Great" states that the value of a work of art comes from several definable sources.... The mood a work of art causes in its audience is considered another important value.... The possibility that a great work of art is the Test of Time, in that it becomes the standard against which other works are evaluated, is the supposition being put forward.... A painting by Rembrandt may be set aside or even discarded if it doesn't measure up to the values of the artist's body of work, or the times in which they are shown....
22 Pages (5500 words) Article

The Notebooks That Da Vinci Left Behind

During the process of comparison, facial features between the mona lisa and the self-portrait were found to be in surprisingly close alignment, projecting a mirror image from Da Vinci onto the more famous painting.... The paper "The Notebooks That Da Vinci Left Behind" discusses that the movement from the realm of creating art for the patron who kept you financially afloat began to give away to the art as a form of intensely personal dynamism in the 19th century before exploding in the 1900s....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Interview of Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci

eonardo: Well, I was always very confident about my work, but I guess the first time I received really great social recognition for my work was with even with one of my own paintings, but my instructor Andrea del Verrochio.... Instructor Verrochio allowed me to paint an angel in his work Baptism of Christ.... This work would later come to be recognized as a seminal painting (‘MOS').... This work featured Mary, the mother of God, sitting on a...
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Modern Mona Lisa

The essay 'The Modern mona lisa' draws an analogy between the middle-aged mysterious beauty in the portrait of Leonardo da Vinci and the personality of an Afghan girl, who was identified by a photograph in National Geographic magazine and has been found in a refugee camp.... By studying not only what is known about visual rhetoric of the gaze as it relates with other elements of the image, a comparison between Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting the 'mona lisa' with images presented through photography by Steve McCurry of an Afghan girl both when she is young and when she is older becomes more illuminating....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

Da Vinci and Michelangelo in the Art of the 16th Century in Italy and Europe

owever, the striking differences that stand out from the two artists' expression make their diversity capture the aesthetic essence of art than any pair of artists would have managed.... This paper "Da Vinci and Michelangelo in the Art of the 16th Century in Italy and Europe" focuses on the fact that these two artists represent two of the most popular artists of the High Renaissance era, as witnessed in some of their work with a reputable standing.... Seen by many as influential artists in the making artistic expression touching on various contemporary issues, these two figures took the Renaissance influence to an all high level due to impressive detail to their work....
10 Pages (2500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us