The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci; which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about and the most parodied work art in the whole world.”
The painting, thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is an oil painting and is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506. It was acquired by King Francis I of France and now is the property of the French Republic. Sitting behind the bullet-proof glass at the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum) in Paris, the small portrait attracts around six million visitors per year.
The reason everyone cites for Mona Lisa`s popularity is her smile. Often described as enigmatic, her half smile has puzzled many people. The woman sits markedly upright with her arms folded, which is also a sign of her reserved posture. Only her gaze is fixed on the observer and seems to welcome him to this silent communication. Since the brightly lit face is practically framed with various much darker elements (hair, veil, shadows), the observer`s attraction to it is brought even greater extent. The woman appears alive to an unusual measure, which Leonardo achieved by his new method not to draw the outlines, “mainly in two features: the corners of the mouth and the corners of the eyes.” Vinci was not just an artists, he was a versatile genius. He was wise in many sectors of knowledge. He was very expert in engineering. He had built & designed many gadgets. Even today this makes us surprised. But he more than his designs he will be mostly remembered for his paintings; especially for Mona Lisa.
Editing & Collecting by Arif.