Marry people go to Louvre in Paris to see only one painting. They ignore other splendid works by Leonardo that hung nearby. {{U}}(71) {{/U}}But it is ignored in favor of the smiling figure of "Mona Lisa" set behind bullet-proof glass and protected constantly by a guard and a heavy railing. {{U}}(72) {{/U}}
What lies behind the intrigue of the "Mona Lisa"? The principal explanation for its particular appeal must lie in the mystery conveyed by the ambiguous smile which allows everyone to find something special for themselves in the obscure, smoky image.
Let's look at the painting itself. The figure is simple. Mona Lisa turns to her left in her chair to look at the viewer with that smile, a smile that 16^th-century art historian and biographer Giorgio Vasari said "... was so pleasing it seems divine rather than real." Her pose is compact yet dynamic. Her hair is partly undone and falls in little curls. {{U}}(73) {{/U}}A veil is caught up in her right arm and draped over her head and left shoulder.
Two features are special to this extraordinary portrait: the "sfumato" technique and the remarkable landscape. Leonardo worked the transitions of light and shade so subtly that everything blends without any hint of lines or borders. In the depiction of Mona Lisa's head, this skill in surface painting is supported by his knowledge of the skull beneath the skin—derived from his studies in anatomy. But it is her position on a balcony that gives this picture of a superbly mature woman a sense of cosmic drama. Beyond her and far below is an immense rocky landscape. {{U}}(74) {{/U}}It is a landscape of the imagination but imagination based on years of study of rock formations.
{{U}} (75) {{/U}}Leonardo has become the product of the collective imagination. His legend has been fuelled by the image of the bearded sage, inspired by his self-portrait drawing, now in Turin, and by the work "Lives of the Famous Painters and Sculptors" by Giorgio Vasari.
A. The legend of the "Mona Lisa" is closely tied to the legend of her creator, Leonardo da Vinci.
B. Her dress is very simple and she wears no jewelry.
C. Over the next 16 years, Leonardo worked and traveled throughout Italy for a number of employers.
D. An example is The "Virgin of the Rocks" which is the summation of Leonardo's studies in anatomy, botany, geology as well as being superbly painted.
E. No other painting in the immense galleries of the Louvre gets this treatment.
F. The landscape is divided and unsteady which makes it like a dream.