MonaLisa

MonaLisa  the great  portrait even  in modern world. The portrait has become  one of  the  most  internationally recognized pieces of art to date. The painting is significant in the fact that it has managed to survive over 500 years. Today, the painting is on display at Musee de Louvre in Paris, and  is viewed  by about six million people a year. Leonardo da Vinci painted `Mona Lisa` without adornment, jewellery, special hair treatment, or even special  clothing. Leonardo's close  relationship with  nature along  with his curiosity led  him to many discoveries  that  have  become exceedingly useful to all humans. He discovered that all aspects of nature function according to laws `nature does not break her law; nature is constrained by the logical necessity of her law  which  is inherent in her` and also that nature is always evolving. `With time everything changes`. He was the first person to introduce the principle of  `cause and effect`. This principle  is based on the concept  that nature begins with an effect, and through experience we must  investigate the cause. ` In nature there is no effect without cause; understand the cause and you will have no need of the experiment`. Da Vinci`s deep love for nature, knowledge, research and experience, was the central reason of both his artistic and scientific accomplishments. His originality in the field of painting  influenced the course of Italian art for more than a century after his death, and his scientific studies. Da Vinci  is known around the world for his paintings. He viewed  art as a form of science and  in his perspective an artist was suppose to acknowledge and observe many concepts  prior his attempt to paint. He also believed  that the foundation of art  relied on studying the function of the eye. ` The eye which is the window of soul is the chief organ`. From studying  the eye closely he was able to discover  the technique of perspective, which included a mathematical method of creating three-dimensional space. He discovered the function of  the pupil by creating a pine hole camera, which enabled  him  to understand the function  of  light  rays and  that  they travel  in straight lines, which he used in his paintings. The reason why the `Mona Lisa`, is famous is due to the profound facial expressions.

Da Vinci's style

The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Da Vinci was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side. Behind her a vast landscape recedes to icy mountains. Winding paths and a distant bridge give only the slightest indications of  human  presence. The sensuous curves of the woman's hair and clothing are echoed in the undulating imaginary valleys and rivers behind her. The blurred outlines, graceful figure, dramatic contrasts of light and dark, and overall feeling of calm are characteristic of Da Vinci's style. Owing to the expressive synthesis that Da Vinci achieved between sitter and landscape it is arguable whether Mona Lisa should be considered as a traditional portrait, for it represents an ideal  rather  than a real woman. The sense of  overall  harmony achieved in the painting—especially apparent in the sitter's faint smile—reflects the idea of a link connecting humanity and nature.

Some thing Special

Mona Lisa  has no clearly visible eyebrows or eyelashes. Some researchers claim  that it  was common at this time for genteel  women to pluck these hairs, as they were considered unsightly. In 2007, French  engineer  Pascal Cotte announced  that  his ultra high  resolution scans of the painting provide evidence that Mona Lisa was originally painted with eyelashes and with better  visible eyebrows, but that these had gradually disappeared over time, perhaps as a result of overcleaning. For modern viewers the nearly missing eyebrows add to the slightly abstract quality of the face. A zoomed-in image of Mona Lisa's left eye revealed a single brush stroke in the eyebrow region, Cotte said.`I am an engineer and scientist, so for me all has to be logical. It was not logical that Mona Lisa does  not  have any eyebrows  or  eyelashes,` Cotte told. `The face of Mona Lisa appears slightly wider and the smile is different and the eyes are different,` Cotte said. `The smile is more accentuated` I would say.

Reserved Mood

The woman (MonaLisa) 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 them 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 to even greater extent. The woman appears alive to an unusual measure, which Da Vinci 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. Leonardo Da Vinci is known for creating some of the world’s most famous paintings such as the The Last Supper, and Madonna of the Rocks.

The Eminent

Very few  that  have ever  lived  have been  acknowledged as a genius. Leonardo Da Vinci was a renaissance man who was a true pioneer of his time. Though he is best known as an artist, he was far more than that. Da Vinci  was also an engineer, inventor, and scientist. He had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He carried  out  research  in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy, anatomy, geography, geology, and paleontology.