Even though the fine lines at the ends of the mouth turn down almost imperceptibly, the impression is that the lips are smiling. The central area of the retina, known as the fovea, has closely packed cones and is best at seeing small details; the area surrounding the fovea is best at picking up shadows and shadings of black and white. When we look at an object straight on, it appears sharper. When we look at it peripherally, glimpsing it with the corner of our eye, it is a bit blurrier, as if it were farther away.
Check out the full table of contents and find your next story to read. With this knowledge, Leonardo was able to create an interactive smile, one that is elusive if we are too intent on seeing it. If you stare directly at the mouth, the retina catches these tiny details and delineations, making her appear not to be smiling. But if you move your gaze slightly away, to look at her eyes or cheeks or some other part of the painting, you will catch sight of her mouth only peripherally.
It will be a bit blurrier. These shadows and the soft sfumato at the edge of her mouth make her lips seem to turn upward into a subtle smile. The result is a smile that twinkles brighter the less you search for it. Scientists recently found a technical way to describe all of this. They always have a sfumato quality, a veil of mystery. Leonardo once wrote and performed at the court of Milan a discourse on why painting should be considered the most exalted of all the art forms, more worthy than poetry or sculpture or even the writing of history.
One of his arguments was that painters did more than simply depict reality—they also augmented it. They combined observation with imagination. Using tricks and illusions, painters could enhance reality with cobbled-together creations, such as dragons, monsters, angels with wondrous wings, and landscapes more magical than any that ever existed. Leonardo believed in basing knowledge on experience, but he also indulged his love of fantasy. He relished the wonders that could be seen by the eye but also those seen only by the imagination.
As a result, his mind could dance magically, and sometimes frenetically, back and forth across the smudgy line that separates reality from fantasia.
Stand before the Mona Lisa , and the science and the magic and the art all blur together into an augmented reality. Thank you for this most interesting exposition of this famous lady and artist. I have always bee fascinated by the Mona Lisa painting. Always a must do visit each time I visit Paris. A magnificent painting of a beautiful woman.
When in Florence I also visit the Uffizi ,another treasure of Europe and not to be missed. Thank you for this information. I may be related, but my family is from Fanano.
Still looking for ancestors. Great info thanks again…. Some fact and some fiction by Jeanne Kalogridis. So was checking to find the truth. Thank you for the information, tremendous research and so interesting! By situating Mona Lisa inside a "little well", Da Vinci transforms her into an ever-fluctuating dimension of the physical universe she occupies.
Art historian and leading Da Vinci expert Martin Kemp has likewise detected a fundamental connection between Mona Lisa's depiction and the geology of the world she inhabits. She is the landscape. As with all visual symbols employed by Leonardo, the pozzetto chair is multivalent and serves more than merely to link Mona Lisa with the artist's well-known fascination with the hydrological forces that shape the Earth. The subtle insinuation of a "little well" in the painting as the very channel through which Mona Lisa emerges into consciousness repositions the painting entirely in cultural discourse.
No longer is this a straightforwardly secular portrait but something spiritually more complex. Portrayals of women "at the well" are a staple throughout Western art history. There are many depictions in art of people at wells, such as Christ and the Samaritan Woman by Duccio di Buoninsegna Credit: Alamy. Moreover apocryphal depictions of the New Testament Annunciation the moment when the Archangel Gabriel informs the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to Christ as occurring at the site of a spring were a mainstay among Medieval manuscript illustrators, and may even have inspired the oldest surviving visual portrayal of Mary.
An endlessly elastic emblem, as Walter Pater intimated, Mona Lisa is doubtless capable of absorbing all such reflected resonances and many more besides.
There is no one she isn't. But perhaps the most pertinent parallel between Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and pictorial precursors is one that can be drawn with the many representations of a biblical episode in which Jesus finds himself at a well, engaged in cryptic conversation with a woman from Samaria.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a distinction between the water that can be drawn from the natural spring — water which will inevitably leave one "thirsty" — and the "living water" that he can provide. Where water from a well can only sustain a perishable body, 'living water' is capable of quenching the eternal spirit.
Notable depictions of the scene by the Medieval Italian painter Duccio di Buoninsegna and by the German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder tend to seat Jesus directly on the wall of the well, suggesting his dominion over the fleeting elements of this world. By placing his female sitter notionally inside the well, however, Da Vinci confounds the tradition, and suggests instead a merging of material and spiritual realms — a blurring of the here and hereafter — into a shared plane of eternal emergence.
We agree, Wonder Friend! We love hearing from all our Wonder Friends! Dec 16, Jesse Nov 24, Very good article and i've always wondered about the Mona Lisa Painting. Nov 24, Sep 17, Tyler Apr 30, Thanks I used this information for my lesson in work time. Thanks Wonderopolis! Wonderopolis Apr 30, That's great news, thanks for including our Mona Lisa Wonder in your work, Tyler!
Way to go! Wonderopolis Apr 29, Wonderopolis Apr 25, Wonderopolis Apr 23, We love your enthusiasm, T. Thanks for sharing your comment! ArtLover Apr 23, Wonderopolis Apr 21, PittM Apr 9, Hi Wonderopolis, I acually saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and it's creepy because her eyes follow you everywhere!
But it was very beautiful! Wonderopolis Apr 10, Elizabeth Thompson Mar 20, I was like " I'm pretty sure I don't have Mona Lisa " hahahaha!!!! I just wanted to share that!!! Wonderopolis Mar 20, Bob the Builder Mar 19, I would love to learn more about the Mona Lisa and her famous smile. I would also like to learn more. Please add more interesting facts on this topic and others. Thank you. We learned about Mona Lisa. She's pretty cool.
Wonderopolis Mar 19, Thank you for the wonderful passage on the Mona Lisa it was very educational I didn't have the chance to watch the video because it is blocked on my laptop but I will look it up on another computer to learn more about the Mona Lisa. Wonderopolis Mar 14, Tyler Jarvis Mar 12, Aww, don't be moanin' Lisa! Wonderopolis Mar 12, Bethany Mar 5, Wonderopolis Mar 6, Lauren Mar 5, Hi wonderopolis, I also am still wondering why Leonardo da Vinci kept the painting?
Hey why is Mona Lisa's smile so famous? I love wonderopolis. Deja Mar 5, Wow, Mona Lisa is great! I usually don't like art, but this is incredible!! Jaclyn Mar 5, There is a book I read about the actual Mona Lisa. It is called "The Second Mrs. Gavin Mar 5, Nadia Mar 5, No way I am going to buy that painting, let alone have the money. Coleman Mar 5, Aidan I did not know that it was stolen and he tried to sell it. Xavier I did not know that the Mona Lisa was worth so much.
Shelby I did not know that the real Mona Lisa had two sons. Connection: Isabelle I learned about the artist that made the Mona Lisa in the 3rd grade. Angel I have a Mona Lisa shirt. Logan In art class last year there was a picture of the Mona Lisa on the wall. Prediction: Shaviyana How can you get a job?
Chris Who made American Idol? Tayler Who made the game Hide and Seek? Ben Who invented the Purple Heart Award? J's Class Mar 5, Hess' Class Mar 5, I shared with them the chat we had last night! Thoughts: I thought the Mona Lisa was kind of creepy because of the way she was staring at me. Shalize I wonder how many people attempted to damage, steal, or destroy the Mona Lisa.
Jake Connections: This reminds me of when a student in our class, Lupe, told us all of Leondaro da Vinci. Leslie This reminds me of when I watched a movie that had a special vase surrounded by bullet proof glass. Jaaron Predictions: How do you become the chosen one? Maria How do you become a grammy winner? Isaiah Why was the goddess of Anubis so special? Michelle What is something that is considered so special? Bertsch's Class Mar 5, We would have enjoyed a link to other famous paintings, such as "The Scream".
Wonderopolis Mar 5, Dorough Mar 5, We think tomorrow's wonder might be about being chosen at random, being chosen for president, an auction, to be chosen for an award like the best movie or chosen for a role in a production.
B Mar 5, Dear Wonderoplis For tomorrow's wonder I think it's going to be a talent show. Speaking of a talent show I am going to do a talent show with my friends on Thursday! In art class there's a Mona Lisa picture. From k. Kennedy Mar 5, Good morning, Wonderopolis!
We are still wondering about the Mona Lisa Wonder. Here are some of things we are still wondering about. Aiden - How old was Lisa when she was painted? Tyler - What was Lisa's first son's name? Grace - Why was only half of her body painted? Megan - Does the painter, Leonardo Da Vinci, have any other famous paintings? Andrew - Why when you move around, does it look like Mona Lisa is looking at you? We are hoping for our 1st snow day tomorrow!
Mona Lisa's name is actually Lisa Gherardini. She was married to a rich guy too. Leonardo de Vinci drew Mona Lisa. Smith's Class Mar 5, We don't think she is scary.
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