Mona Lisa. Who is she? The main secret of Mona Lisa - her smile - still haunts scientists. The author of the Mona Lisa is an artist.

I want to sing to the smile
Mona Liza.
O n a - the riddle of the renaissance -
For centuries .
And there is no beautiful red smile,
S o t o r i l i
E GREAT MASTER MODEL -
A Cossack's wife.

H e g o t a l a n t u v i d e l v n e ,
simple citizen,
WHICH HE SAW A LOT
Still ,
Beautiful soulful goddess,
P o n i l t a i n u
W omen and mothers, at a glance
In the eyes

She smiles modestly
MEETS
L o u e m a t e r i n s t a
first call
And there is nothing around,
besides the secrets,
WHICH I LIVE
in n u t r i n e e .

“Mona Lisa”, aka “Gioconda”; (Italian: Mona Lisa, La Gioconda, French: La Joconde), full title - Portrait of Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo, Italian. Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo) is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, located in the Louvre (Paris, France), one of the most famous works of painting in the world, which is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, written around 1503-1505.

It will soon be four centuries since the Mona Lisa deprives everyone of their sanity who, having seen enough of it, begins to talk about it.

The full title of the painting is Italian. Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo - “Portrait of Mrs. Lisa Giocondo.” In Italian, ma donna means “my lady” (cf. English “milady” and French “madam”), in a shortened version this expression was transformed into monna or mona. The second part of the model’s name, considered the surname of her husband - del Giocondo, in Italian also has a direct meaning and is translated as “cheerful, playing” and, accordingly, la Gioconda - “cheerful, playing” (compare with English joking).

The name “La Joconda” was first mentioned in 1525 in the list of the inheritance of the artist Salai, heir and student of da Vinci, who left the painting to his sisters in Milan. The inscription describes it as a portrait of a lady named La Gioconda.

Even the first Italian biographers of Leonardo da Vinci wrote about the place this painting occupied in the artist’s work. Leonardo did not shy away from working on the Mona Lisa - as was the case with many other orders, but, on the contrary, devoted himself to it with some kind of passion. All the time he had left from working on “The Battle of Anghiari” was devoted to her. He spent considerable time on it and, leaving Italy in adulthood, took it with him to France, among some other selected paintings. Da Vinci had a special affection for this portrait, and also thought a lot during the process of its creation; in the “Treatise on Painting” and in those notes on painting techniques that were not included in it, one can find many indications that undoubtedly relate to “La Gioconda” "

Vasari's message


"Leonardo da Vinci's Studio" in an 1845 engraving: Gioconda is entertained by jesters and musicians

According to Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), an author of biographies of Italian artists who wrote about Leonardo in 1550, 31 years after his death, Mona Lisa (short for Madonna Lisa) was the wife of a Florentine man named Francesco del Giocondo. del Giocondo), on whose portrait Leonardo spent 4 years, yet left it unfinished.

“Leonardo undertook to make a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, for Francesco del Giocondo, and, after working on it for four years, he left it unfinished. This work is now in the possession of the French king in Fontainebleau.
This image gives anyone who would like to see to what extent art can imitate nature the opportunity to comprehend this in the easiest way, for it reproduces all the smallest details that the subtlety of painting can convey. Therefore, the eyes have that shine and that moisture that is usually visible in a living person, and around them are all those reddish reflections and hairs that can be depicted only with the greatest subtlety of craftsmanship. Eyelashes, made in the same way as hair actually grows on the body, where it is thicker and where it is thinner, and located according to the pores of the skin, could not be depicted with more naturalness. The nose, with its lovely holes, pinkish and delicate, seems alive. The mouth, slightly open, with the edges connected by the scarlet lips, with the physicality of its appearance, seems not like paint, but real flesh. If you look closely, you can see the pulse beating in the hollow of the neck. And truly we can say that this work was written in such a way that it plunges any arrogant artist, no matter who he is, into confusion and fear.
By the way, Leonardo resorted to the following technique: since Mona Lisa was very beautiful, while painting the portrait he held people who played the lyre or sang, and there were always jesters who kept her cheerful and removed the melancholy that she usually conveys. painting performed portraits. Leonardo's smile in this work is so pleasant that it seems as if one is contemplating a divine rather than a human being; the portrait itself is considered an extraordinary work, for life itself could not be different.”

This drawing from the Hyde Collection in New York may be by Leonardo da Vinci and is a preliminary sketch for a portrait of the Mona Lisa. In this case, it is curious that at first he intended to place a magnificent branch in her hands.

Most likely, Vasari simply added a story about jesters to entertain readers. Vasari's text also contains an accurate description of the eyebrows missing from the painting. This inaccuracy could only arise if the author described the picture from memory or from the stories of others. Alexey Dzhivelegov writes that Vasari’s indication that “the work on the portrait lasted four years is clearly exaggerated: Leonardo did not stay in Florence for so long after returning from Caesar Borgia, and if he had started painting the portrait before leaving for Caesar, Vasari would probably , I would say that he wrote it for five years." The scientist also writes about the erroneous indication of the unfinished nature of the portrait - “the portrait undoubtedly took a long time to paint and was completed, no matter what Vasari said, who in his biography of Leonardo stylized him as an artist who, in principle, could not finish any major work. And not only was it finished, but it is one of Leonardo’s most carefully finished works.”

An interesting fact is that in his description Vasari admires Leonardo's talent for conveying physical phenomena, and not the similarity between the model and the painting. It seems that it was this “physical” feature of the masterpiece that left a deep impression on visitors to the artist’s studio and reached Vasari almost fifty years later.

The painting was well known among art lovers, although Leonardo left Italy for France in 1516, taking the painting with him. According to Italian sources, it has since been in the collection of the French king Francis I, but it remains unclear when and how he acquired it and why Leonardo did not return it to the customer.

Perhaps the artist really did not finish the painting in Florence, but took it with him when leaving in 1516 and applied the final stroke in the absence of witnesses who could tell Vasari about it. If so, he completed it shortly before his death in 1519. (In France, he lived in Clos Luce, not far from the royal castle of Amboise).

In 1517, Cardinal Luigi d'Aragona visited Leonardo in his French workshop. A description of this visit was made by the cardinal's secretary Antonio de Beatis: “On October 10, 1517, Monsignor and others like him visited Messire Leonardo da Vinci, a Florentine, in one of the remote parts of Amboise, a gray-bearded old man, over seventy years old, the most excellent artist of our time, he showed His Excellency three pictures: one of a Florentine lady, painted from life at the request of Friar Lorenzo the Magnificent Giuliano de' Medici, another of St. John the Baptist in his youth, and the third of St. Anna with Mary and the infant Christ; all extremely beautiful. From the master himself, due to the fact that his right hand was paralyzed at that time, one could no longer expect new good works." According to some researchers, under "a certain Florentine Lady" refers to the "Mona Lisa". It is possible, however, that this was another portrait, from which no evidence or copies have survived, as a result of which Giuliano de' Medici could not have any connection with the "Mona Lisa".


A 19th-century painting by Ingres shows, in an exaggeratedly sentimental manner, the grief of King Francis at Leonardo da Vinci's deathbed

Model identification problem

Vasari, born in 1511, could not see Gioconda with his own eyes and was forced to refer to information given by the anonymous author of the first biography of Leonardo. It is he who writes about the silk merchant Francesco Giocondo, who ordered a portrait of his third wife from the artist. Despite the words of this anonymous contemporary, many researchers doubted the possibility that the Mona Lisa was painted in Florence (1500-1505), since the sophisticated technique may indicate a later creation of the painting. It was also argued that at that time Leonardo was so busy working on “The Battle of Anghiari” that he even refused to accept the Marquis of Mantua Isabella d’Este’s order (however, he had a very difficult relationship with this lady).

The work of a follower of Leonardo is a depiction of a saint. Perhaps her appearance depicts Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan, one of the candidates for the role of Mona Lisa

Francesco del Giocondo, a prominent Florentine popola, at the age of thirty-five in 1495 married for the third time a young Neapolitan from the noble Gherardini family - Lisa Gherardini, full name Lisa di Antonio Maria di Noldo Gherardini (June 15, 1479 - July 15, 1542, or about 1551 ).

Although Vasari provides information about the woman’s identity, there was still uncertainty about her for a long time and many versions were expressed:
Caterina Sforza, illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Sforza
Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan
Cecilia Gallerani (model of another portrait of the artist - “Lady with an Ermine”)
Constanza d'Avalos, who also had the nickname "The Cheerful One", that is, La Gioconda in Italian. Venturi in 1925 suggested that “La Gioconda” is a portrait of the Duchess of Costanza d’Avalos, the widow of Federigo del Balzo, glorified in a small poem by Eneo Irpino, which also mentions her portrait painted by Leonardo. Costanza was the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici.
Pacifica Brandano is another mistress of Giuliano Medici, the mother of Cardinal Ippolito Medici (According to Roberto Zapperi, the portrait of Pacifica was commissioned by Giuliano Medici for his illegitimate son, who was later legitimized by him, who longed to see his mother, who by that time had already died. At the same time, according to According to the art critic, the customer, as usual, left Leonardo complete freedom of action).
Isabela Gualanda
Just the perfect woman
A young man dressed as a woman (for example, Salai, Leonardo's lover)
Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci himself
Retrospective portrait of the artist's mother Catherine (1427-1495) (suggested by Freud, then by Serge Bramly, Rina de "Firenze).

However, the version about the correspondence of the generally accepted name of the picture to the personality of the model in 2005 is believed to have found final confirmation. Scientists from the University of Heidelberg studied the notes in the margins of the tome, the owner of which was a Florentine official, a personal acquaintance of the artist Agostino Vespucci. In notes in the margins of the book, he compares Leonardo with the famous ancient Greek painter Apelles and notes that “da Vinci is now working on three paintings, one of which is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini.” Thus, the Mona Lisa really turned out to be the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo - Lisa Gherardini. The painting, as scientists prove in this case, was commissioned by Leonardo for the new home of the young family and to commemorate the birth of their second son, named Andrea.

According to one of the put forward versions, “Mona Lisa” is a self-portrait of the artist


A note in the margin proved the correct identification of the model of the Mona Lisa.

The rectangular painting depicts a woman in dark clothes, turning half-turned. She sits in a chair with her hands clasped together, one hand resting on its armrest and the other on top, turning in the chair almost to face the viewer. Parted, smoothly and flatly lying hair, visible through a transparent veil draped over it (according to some assumptions - an attribute of widowhood), falls on the shoulders in two thin, slightly wavy strands. A green dress in thin ruffles, with yellow pleated sleeves, cut out on a white low chest. The head is slightly turned.

Art critic Boris Vipper, describing the picture, points out that traces of Quattrocento fashion are noticeable in the face of Mona Lisa: her eyebrows and hair on the top of her forehead are shaved.

The copy of the Mona Lisa from the Wallace Collection (Baltimore) was made before the edges of the original were trimmed, and allows the missing columns to be seen.

Fragment of the Mona Lisa with the remains of the column base

The lower edge of the painting cuts off the second half of her body, so the portrait is almost half-length. The chair in which the model sits stands on a balcony or loggia, the parapet line of which is visible behind her elbows. It is believed that earlier the picture could have been wider and accommodated two side columns of the loggia, of which at the moment there are two bases of the columns, fragments of which are visible along the edges of the parapet.

The loggia overlooks a desolate wilderness with meandering streams and a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains that extends to a high skyline behind the figure. “Mona Lisa is represented sitting in a chair against the backdrop of a landscape, and the very juxtaposition of her figure, very close to the viewer, with the landscape visible from afar, like a huge mountain, imparts extraordinary grandeur to the image. The same impression is promoted by the contrast of the heightened plastic tactility of the figure and its smooth, generalized silhouette with a vision-like landscape stretching into the foggy distance with bizarre rocks and water channels winding among them.”

The portrait of Gioconda is one of the best examples of the portrait genre of the Italian High Renaissance.

Boris Vipper writes that, despite traces of the Quattrocento, “with her clothes with a small cutout on the chest and with sleeves in loose folds, just as with her upright posture, slight turn of the body and soft gesture of the hands, Mona Lisa entirely belongs to the era of the classical style.” Mikhail Alpatov points out that “Gioconda is perfectly inscribed in a strictly proportional rectangle, her half-figure forms something whole, her folded hands give her image completeness. Now, of course, there could be no question of the fanciful curls of the early “Annunciation.” However, no matter how softened all the contours are, the wavy strand of Mona Lisa’s hair is in tune with the transparent veil, and the hanging fabric thrown over her shoulder finds an echo in the smooth windings of the distant road. In all this, Leonardo demonstrates his ability to create according to the laws of rhythm and harmony.”

The “Mona Lisa” became very dark, which is considered to be the result of its author’s inherent tendency to experiment with paints, because of which the “Last Supper” fresco practically died. The artist's contemporaries, however, managed to express their admiration not only for the composition, design and play of chiaroscuro - but also for the color of the work. It is assumed, for example, that the sleeves of her dress may have originally been red - as can be seen from the copy of the painting from the Prado.

The current condition of the painting is quite poor, which is why the Louvre staff announced that they would no longer give it to exhibitions: “Cracks have formed in the painting, and one of them stops a few millimeters above the head of the Mona Lisa.”

Macro photography allows you to see a large number of craquelures (cracks) on the surface of the painting

As Dzhivelegov notes, by the time of the creation of the Mona Lisa, Leonardo’s mastery “had already entered a phase of such maturity, when all formal tasks of a compositional and other nature were posed and solved, when Leonardo began to feel that only the last, most difficult tasks of artistic technique deserved to do them. And when he found a model in the person of Mona Lisa that satisfied his needs, he tried to solve some of the highest and most difficult problems of painting technique that he had not yet solved. He wanted, with the help of techniques that he had already developed and tested before, especially with the help of his famous sfumato, which had previously given extraordinary effects, to do more than he had done before: to create a living face of a living person and so reproduce the features and expression of this face so that with them the inner world of man was fully revealed.”

Boris Vipper asks the question “by what means was this spirituality achieved, this undying spark of consciousness in the image of the Mona Lisa, then two main means should be named. One is Leonard's wonderful sfumato. No wonder Leonardo liked to say that “modeling is the soul of painting.” It is sfumato that creates Gioconda’s moist gaze, her smile as light as the wind, and the incomparable caressing softness of the touch of her hands.” Sfumato is a subtle haze that envelops the face and figure, softening contours and shadows. For this purpose, Leonardo recommended placing, as he puts it, “a kind of fog” between the light source and the bodies.

Rothenberg writes that “Leonardo managed to introduce into his creation that degree of generalization that allows him to be considered as an image of the Renaissance man as a whole. This high degree of generalization is reflected in all the elements of the pictorial language of the painting, in its individual motifs - in the way the light, transparent veil, covering the head and shoulders of Mona Lisa, unites the carefully drawn strands of hair and small folds of the dress into an overall smooth outline; it is palpable in the incomparable softness of the modeling of the face (from which, according to the fashion of that time, eyebrows were removed) and beautiful, sleek hands.”

Landscape behind the Mona Lisa

Alpatov adds that “in the softly melting haze enveloping the face and figure, Leonardo managed to make one feel the limitless variability of human facial expressions. Although Gioconda's eyes look attentively and calmly at the viewer, thanks to the shading of her eye sockets, one might think that they are frowning slightly; her lips are compressed, but near their corners there are subtle shadows that make you believe that every minute they will open, smile, and speak. The very contrast between her gaze and the half-smile on her lips gives the idea of ​​the inconsistency of her experiences. (...) Leonardo worked on it for several years, ensuring that not a single sharp stroke, not a single angular outline remained in the picture; and although the edges of objects in it are clearly perceptible, they all dissolve in the subtlest transitions from half-shadows to half-lights.”

Art critics emphasize the organic way with which the artist combined the portrait characterization of a person with a landscape full of a special mood, and how much this increased the dignity of the portrait

An early copy of the Mona Lisa from the Prado demonstrates how much a portrait image loses when placed against a dark, neutral background.

Whipper considers landscape to be the second medium that creates the spirituality of a painting: “The second medium is the relationship between figure and background. The fantastic, rocky landscape, as if seen through sea water, in the portrait of Mona Lisa has some other reality than her figure itself. The Mona Lisa has the reality of life, the landscape has the reality of a dream. Thanks to this contrast, Mona Lisa seems so incredibly close and tangible, and we perceive the landscape as the radiation of her own dreams.”

Renaissance art researcher Viktor Grashchenkov writes that Leonardo, including thanks to the landscape, managed to create not a portrait of a specific person, but a universal image: “In this mysterious picture, he created something more than a portrait image of the unknown Florentine Mona Lisa, the third wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The appearance and mental structure of a particular person are conveyed by him with unprecedented syntheticity. This impersonal psychologism corresponds to the cosmic abstraction of the landscape, almost completely devoid of any signs of human presence. In smoky chiaroscuro, not only all the outlines of the figure and landscape and all the color tones are softened. In the subtle transitions from light to shadow, almost imperceptible to the eye, in the vibration of Leonard’s “sfumato”, all definiteness of individuality and its psychological state softens to the limit, melts and is ready to disappear. (…) “La Gioconda” is not a portrait. This is a visible symbol of the very life of man and nature, united into one whole and presented abstractly from its individual concrete form. But behind the barely noticeable movement, which, like light ripples, runs across the motionless surface of this harmonious world, one can discern all the richness of the possibilities of physical and spiritual existence.”

In 2012, a copy of the “Mona Lisa” from the Prado was cleared, and under the later recordings there was a landscape background - the feeling of the canvas immediately changes.

“Mona Lisa” is designed in golden brown and reddish tones in the foreground and emerald green tones in the background. “Transparent, like glass, the colors form an alloy, as if created not by the hand of a person, but by that internal force of matter, which gives birth to crystals of perfect shape from a solution.” Like many of Leonardo's works, this work has darkened over time, and its color relationships have changed somewhat, but even now the thoughtful comparisons in the tones of carnation and clothing and their general contrast with the bluish-green, “underwater” tone of the landscape are clearly perceived.

Leonardo's earlier female portrait "Lady with an Ermine", although it is a beautiful work of art, in its simpler figurative structure belongs to an earlier era.

“Mona Lisa” is considered one of the best works in the genre of portraiture, which influenced the works of the High Renaissance and, indirectly through them, all subsequent development of the genre, which “must always return to “La Gioconda” as an unattainable, but obligatory model.”

Art historians note that the portrait of Mona Lisa was a decisive step in the development of Renaissance portraiture. Rotenberg writes: “although the Quattrocento painters left a number of significant works of this genre, their achievements in portraiture were, so to speak, disproportionate to the achievements in the main painting genres - in compositions on religious and mythological themes. The inequality of the portrait genre was already reflected in the very “iconography” of portrait images. The actual portrait works of the 15th century, for all their undeniable physiognomic similarity and the feeling of inner strength they radiated, were also distinguished by external and internal constraint. All the wealth of human feelings and experiences that characterizes the biblical and mythological images of 15th-century painters was usually not the property of their portrait works. Echoes of this can be seen in earlier portraits of Leonardo himself, created by him in the first years of his stay in Milan. (...) In comparison, the portrait of Mona Lisa is perceived as the result of a gigantic qualitative shift. For the first time, the portrait image in its significance became on a par with the most striking images of other pictorial genres.”

“Portrait of a Lady” by Lorenzo Costa was painted in the years 1500-06 - approximately the same years as the “Mona Lisa”, but in comparison it shows amazing inertia.

Lazarev agrees with him: “There is hardly any other picture in the world about which art critics would write such an abyss of nonsense as this famous work by Leonardo. (...) If Lisa di Antonio Maria di Noldo Gherardini, the virtuous matron and wife of one of the most respected Florentine citizens, heard all this, she would, no doubt, be sincerely surprised. And Leonardo would have been even more surprised, having set himself here a much more modest and, at the same time, much more difficult task - to give such an image of the human face that would completely dissolve in itself the last vestiges of Quattrocentist statics and psychological immobility. (...) And therefore, the art critic who pointed out the uselessness of deciphering this smile was right a thousand times. Its essence lies in the fact that here is one of the first attempts in Italian art to depict a natural mental state for its own sake, as an end in itself, without any added religious and ethical motivations. Thus, Leonardo managed to revive his model so much that in comparison with it, all the older portraits seem like frozen mummies.”

Raphael, "Girl with a Unicorn", c. 1505-1506, Galleria Borghese, Rome. This portrait, painted under the influence of the Mona Lisa, is built according to the same iconographic scheme - with a balcony (also with columns) and a landscape.

In his innovative work, Leonardo transferred the main center of gravity to the face of the portrait. At the same time, he used his hands as a powerful means of psychological characterization. By making the portrait generational in format, the artist was able to demonstrate a wider range of artistic techniques. And the most important thing in the figurative structure of a portrait is the subordination of all details to the guiding idea. “The head and hands are the undoubted center of the picture, to which the rest of its elements are sacrificed. The fabulous landscape seems to shine through the sea waters, it seems so distant and intangible. Its main goal is not to distract the viewer's attention from the face. And the same role is intended to be performed by the garment, which falls into the smallest folds. Leonardo deliberately avoids heavy draperies, which could obscure the expressiveness of his hands and face. Thus, he forces the latter to perform with special force, the greater the more modest and neutral the landscape and attire, likened to a quiet, barely noticeable accompaniment.”

Leonardo's students and followers created numerous replicas of the Mona Lisa. Some of them (from the Vernon collection, USA; from the Walter collection, Baltimore, USA; and also for some time the Isleworth Mona Lisa, Switzerland) are considered authentic by their owners, and the painting in the Louvre is considered a copy. There is also the “nude Mona Lisa” iconography, presented in several versions (“Beautiful Gabrielle”, “Monna Vanna”, the Hermitage “Donna Nuda”), apparently made by the artist’s own students. A large number of them gave rise to an unprovable version that there was a version of the nude Mona Lisa, painted by the master himself.

“Donna Nuda” (that is, “Naked Donna”). Unknown artist, late 16th century, Hermitage

Reputation of the painting

"Mona Lisa" behind bulletproof glass in the Louvre and museum visitors crowding nearby

Despite the fact that the Mona Lisa was highly appreciated by the artist’s contemporaries, its fame later faded. The painting was not particularly remembered until the mid-19th century, when artists close to the Symbolist movement began to praise it, associating it with their ideas about feminine mystique. Critic Walter Pater expressed his opinion in his 1867 essay on da Vinci, describing the figure in the painting as a kind of mythical embodiment of the eternal feminine, who is "older than the rocks between which she sits" and who has "died many times and learned the secrets of the afterlife." .

The painting’s further rise in fame is associated with its mysterious disappearance at the beginning of the 20th century and its happy return to the museum several years later (see below, section Theft), thanks to which it did not leave the pages of newspapers.

A contemporary of her adventure, critic Abram Efros wrote: “... the museum guard, who now does not leave a single step from the painting, since its return to the Louvre after the abduction in 1911, is guarding not a portrait of Francesca del Giocondo’s wife, but an image of some half-human, half-snake a creature, either smiling or gloomy, dominating the cold, bare, rocky space spread out behind him.”

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in Western European art today. Its resounding reputation is associated not only with its high artistic merits, but also with the atmosphere of mystery surrounding this work.

One of the mysteries is related to the deep affection that the author felt for this work. Various explanations were offered, for example, a romantic one: Leonardo fell in love with Mona Lisa and deliberately delayed work in order to stay longer with her, and she teased him with her mysterious smile and brought him to the greatest creative ecstasies. This version is considered simply speculation. Dzhivelegov believes that this attachment is due to the fact that he found in it the point of application for many of his creative quests (see the Technique section).

Smile of Gioconda

Leonardo da Vinci. "John the Baptist". 1513-1516, Louvre. This picture also has its own mystery: why is John the Baptist smiling and pointing upward?

Leonardo da Vinci. "Saint Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ" (fragment), c. 1510, Louvre.
The Mona Lisa's smile is one of the most famous mysteries of the painting. This slight wandering smile is found in many works by both the master himself and the Leonardesques, but it was in the Mona Lisa that it reached its perfection.

The viewer is especially fascinated by the demonic charm of this smile. Hundreds of poets and writers have written about this woman, who seems to be either smiling seductively or frozen, looking coldly and soullessly into space, and no one unraveled her smile, no one interpreted her thoughts. Everything, even the landscape, is mysterious, like a dream, tremulous, like a pre-storm haze of sensuality (Muter).

Grashchenkov writes: “The endless variety of human feelings and desires, opposing passions and thoughts, smoothed out and fused together, resonates in the harmoniously dispassionate appearance of Gioconda only with the uncertainty of her smile, barely emerging and disappearing. This meaningless fleeting movement of the corners of her mouth, like a distant echo merged into one sound, brings to us from the boundless distance the colorful polyphony of a person’s spiritual life.”
Art critic Rotenberg believes that “there are few portraits in all of world art that are equal to the Mona Lisa in terms of the power of expression of the human personality, embodied in the unity of character and intellect. It is the extraordinary intellectual charge of Leonardo's portrait that distinguishes it from the portrait images of the Quattrocento. This feature of his is perceived all the more acutely because it relates to a female portrait, in which the character of the model was previously revealed in a completely different, predominantly lyrical, figurative tonality. The feeling of strength emanating from the “Mona Lisa” is an organic combination of internal composure and a sense of personal freedom, the spiritual harmony of a person based on his consciousness of his own significance. And her smile itself does not at all express superiority or disdain; it is perceived as the result of calm self-confidence and complete self-control.”

Boris Vipper points out that the above-mentioned lack of eyebrows and shaved forehead perhaps involuntarily enhances the strange mystery in her facial expression. He further writes about the power of the painting: “If we ask ourselves what is the great attractive power of the Mona Lisa, its truly incomparable hypnotic effect, then there can only be one answer - in its spirituality. The most ingenious and the most opposite interpretations were put into the smile of “La Gioconda”. They wanted to read pride and tenderness, sensuality and coquetry, cruelty and modesty in it. The mistake was, firstly, in the fact that they were looking for individual, subjective spiritual properties at all costs in the image of the Mona Lisa, while there is no doubt that Leonardo was striving for typical spirituality. Secondly, and this is perhaps even more important, they tried to attribute emotional content to the spirituality of Mona Lisa, whereas in fact it has intellectual roots. The miracle of the Mona Lisa lies precisely in the fact that she thinks; that, standing in front of a yellowed, cracked board, we irresistibly sense the presence of a being endowed with intelligence, a being with whom we can talk and from whom we can expect an answer.”

Lazarev analyzed it as an art scientist: “This smile is not so much an individual feature of Mona Lisa, but a typical formula for psychological revitalization, a formula that runs like a red thread through all of Leonardo’s youthful images, a formula that later turned, in the hands of his students and followers, into traditional stamp. Like the proportions of Leonard's figures, it is built on the finest mathematical measurements, on strict consideration of the expressive values ​​of individual parts of the face. And for all that, this smile is absolutely natural, and this is precisely the power of its charm. It takes away everything hard, tense, and frozen from the face; it turns it into a mirror of vague, indefinite spiritual experiences; in its elusive lightness it can only be compared to a ripple running through water.”

Her analysis attracted the attention of not only art historians, but also psychologists. Sigmund Freud writes: “Whoever imagines Leonardo’s paintings is reminded of a strange, captivating and mysterious smile hidden on the lips of his female images. The smile frozen on his elongated, quivering lips became characteristic of him and is most often called “Leonardian.” In the peculiarly beautiful appearance of the Florentine Mona Lisa del Gioconda, she most captivates and plunges the viewer into confusion. This smile required one interpretation, but found a variety of interpretations, none of which satisfied. (...) The guess that two different elements were combined in Mona Lisa’s smile was born among many critics. Therefore, in the facial expression of the beautiful Florentine, they saw the most perfect image of the antagonism that rules a woman’s love life, restraint and seduction, sacrificial tenderness and recklessly demanding sensuality that absorbs a man as something extraneous. (...) Leonardo, in the person of Mona Lisa, managed to reproduce the double meaning of her smile, the promise of boundless tenderness and ominous threat.”


The philosopher A.F. Losev writes sharply negatively about her: ... “Mona Lisa” with her “demonic smile.” “After all, one has only to look closely at Gioconda’s eyes and one can easily notice that she, in fact, does not smile at all. This is not a smile, but a predatory face with cold eyes and a clear knowledge of the helplessness of the victim whom Gioconda wants to take possession of and in which, in addition to weakness, she also counts on powerlessness in the face of the bad feeling that has taken possession of her.”

The discoverer of the term microexpression, psychologist Paul Ekman (the prototype of Dr. Cal Lightman from the television series Lie to Me), writes about the facial expression of Mona Lisa, analyzing it from the point of view of his knowledge of human facial expressions: “the other two types [of smiles] combine a sincere smile with a characteristic expression in the eyes. A flirting smile, although at the same time the seducer averts his eyes away from the object of his interest, in order to then again cast a sly glance at him, which, again, is instantly averted as soon as it is noticed. The unusual impression of the famous Mona Lisa partly lies in the fact that Leonardo catches his nature precisely at the moment of this playful movement; turning her head in one direction, she looks in the other - at the object of her interest. In life, this facial expression is fleeting - a furtive glance lasts no more than a moment.”

History of the painting in modern times

At the time of his death in 1525, Leonardo's assistant (and possibly lover) named Salai was in possession, according to references in his personal papers, of a portrait of a woman entitled "La Gioconda" (quadro de una dona aretata), which had been bequeathed to him by his teacher. Salai left the painting to his sisters who lived in Milan. It remains a mystery how, in this case, the portrait got from Milan back to France. It is also unknown who and when exactly trimmed the edges of the painting with columns, which, according to most researchers, based on comparison with other portraits, existed in the original version. Unlike another cropped work by Leonardo - “Portrait of Ginevra Benci”, the lower part of which was cropped because it was damaged by water or fire, in this case the reasons were most likely of a compositional nature. There is a version that Leonardo da Vinci himself did it.


Crowd in the Louvre near the painting, our days

King Francis I is believed to have bought the painting from Salai's heirs (for 4,000 ecus) and kept it in his castle of Fontainebleau, where it remained until the time of Louis XIV. The latter transported her to the Palace of Versailles, and after the French Revolution she ended up in the Louvre. Napoleon hung the portrait in his bedroom at the Tuileries Palace, then it returned to the museum.

Theft

1911 Empty wall where the Mona Lisa hung
The Mona Lisa would have been known only to fine art connoisseurs for a long time, if not for her exceptional history, which ensured her worldwide fame.

Vincenzo Perugia. Leaf from a criminal case.

On August 21, 1911, the painting was stolen by an employee of the Louvre, Italian mirror master Vincenzo Peruggia. The purpose of this abduction is not clear. Perhaps Perugia wanted to return La Gioconda to its historical homeland, believing that the French had “kidnapped” it and forgetting that Leonardo himself brought the painting to France. The police search was unsuccessful. The country's borders were closed, the museum administration was fired. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested on suspicion of committing a crime and later released. Pablo Picasso was also under suspicion. The painting was found only two years later in Italy. Moreover, the culprit was the thief himself, who responded to an advertisement in the newspaper and offered to sell La Gioconda to the director of the Uffizi Gallery. It is assumed that he intended to make copies and pass them off as the original. Perugia, on the one hand, was praised for Italian patriotism, on the other hand, he was given a short term in prison.

Finally, on January 4, 1914, the painting (after exhibitions in Italian cities) returned to Paris. During this time, the Mona Lisa remained on the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world, as well as postcards, so it is not surprising that the Mona Lisa was copied more often than any other painting. The painting became an object of worship as a masterpiece of world classics.

Vandalism

In 1956, the lower part of the painting was damaged when a visitor threw acid on it. On December 30 of the same year, a young Bolivian, Hugo Ungaza Villegas, threw a stone at her and damaged the paint layer at her elbow (the loss was later recorded). After this, the Mona Lisa was protected with bulletproof glass, which protected it from further serious attacks. Still, in April 1974, a woman, upset by the museum’s policy towards the disabled, tried to spray red paint from a can while the painting was on display in Tokyo, and on April 2, 2009, a Russian woman, who had not received French citizenship, threw a clay cup at the glass. Both of these cases did not harm the picture.

During World War II, for safety reasons, the painting was transported from the Louvre to the Castle of Amboise (the place of Leonardo's death and burial), then to Loc-Dieu Abbey, and finally to the Ingres Museum in Montauban, from where it was safely returned to its place after the victory.

In the twentieth century, the painting almost never left the Louvre, visiting the USA in 1963 and Japan in 1974. On the way from Japan to France, the painting was exhibited at the Museum. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow. The trips only cemented the success and fame of the film.

Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Mona Lisa" is the first thing tourists from any country associate with the Louvre. This is the most famous and mysterious work of painting in the history of world art. Her mysterious smile still makes people think and charm people who do not like or are not interested in painting. And the story of her abduction at the beginning of the 20th century turned the picture into a living legend. But first things first.

The history of the painting

“Mona Lisa” is just an abbreviated name for the painting. In the original it sounds like “Portrait of Mrs. Lisa Giocondo” (Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo). From Italian the word ma donna translates as “my lady.” Over time, it turned into simply mona, and from it the well-known name of the painting came.

Contemporary biographers of the artist wrote that he rarely took orders, but with the Mona Lisa there was initially a special story. He devoted himself to the work with particular passion, spent almost all his time painting it and took it with him to France (Leonardo was leaving Italy forever) along with other selected paintings.

It is known that the artist began the painting in 1503-1505 and only applied the last stroke in 1516, shortly before his death. According to the will, the painting was given to Leonardo's student, Salai. It remains unknown how the painting migrated back to France (most likely Francis I acquired it from the heirs of Salai). During the time of Louis XIV, the painting moved to the Palace of Versailles, and after the French Revolution, the Louvre became its permanent home.

There is nothing special in the creation story; the lady with the mysterious smile in the picture is of greater interest. Who is she?

According to the official version, this is a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, the young wife of the prominent Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Very little is known about Lisa: she was born in Florence into a family of nobility. She got married early and led a calm, measured life. Francesco del Giocondo was a great admirer of art and painting and patronized artists. It was his idea to order a portrait of his wife in honor of the birth of their first child. There is a hypothesis that Leonardo was in love with Lisa. This can explain his special attachment to the painting and the long time he spent working on it.

This is surprising, practically nothing is known about the life of Lisa herself, and her portrait is the main work of world painting.

But Leonardo’s contemporary historians are not so clear. According to Giorgio Vasari, the model could be Caterina Sforza (a representative of the ruling dynasty of the Italian Renaissance, considered the main woman of that era), Cecilia Gallerani (the lover of Duke Louis Sforza, the model of another portrait of the genius - “Lady with an Ermine”), the artist’s mother, Leonardo himself , a young man in women's clothing and simply a portrait of a woman, the standard of beauty of the Renaissance.

Description of the picture

The small-sized canvas depicts a woman of average size, wearing a dark cape (according to historians, a sign of widowhood), sitting half-turned. Like other Italian Renaissance portraits, Mona Lisa has no eyebrows and the hair on the top of her forehead is shaved. Most likely, the model posed on the balcony, as the parapet line is visible. It is believed that the painting was slightly cropped; the columns visible behind were fully included in the original size.

It is believed that the composition of the painting is the standard of the portrait genre. It is painted according to all the laws of harmony and rhythm: the model is inscribed in a proportional rectangle, the wavy strand of hair is in harmony with the translucent veil, and folded hands give the picture a special compositional completeness.

Mona Lisa Smile

This phrase has long lived separately from the picture, having turned into a literary cliche. This is the main mystery and charm of the canvas. It attracts the attention of not only ordinary viewers and art critics, but also psychologists. For example, Sigmund Freud calls her smile “flirting.” And the special look is “fleeting.”

Current state

Due to the fact that the artist loved to experiment with paints and painting techniques, the painting has become very dark by now. And strong cracks form on its surface. One of them is located a millimeter above Gioconda's head. In the middle of the last century, the canvas went on “tour” to museums in the USA and Japan. Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin was lucky enough to host the masterpiece during the exhibition.

Fame of Gioconda

The painting was very highly regarded among Leonardo's contemporaries, but over the decades it became forgotten. Until the 19th century, it was not remembered until the moment when the romantic writer Théophile Gautier spoke about the “Gioconda smile” in one of his literary works. It’s strange, but until that moment this feature of the picture was simply called “pleasant” and there was no secret in it.

The painting gained real popularity among the general public in connection with its mysterious abduction in 1911. The newspaper hype surrounding this story gained enormous popularity for the film. She was only found in 1914, where she was all this time remains a mystery. Her kidnapper was Vincezo Perugio, an employee of the Louvre, an Italian by nationality. The exact motives for the theft are unknown; he probably wanted to take the painting to Leonardo’s historical homeland, Italy.

Mona Lisa today

“Mona Lisa” still “lives” in the Louvre; as the main artistic figure, she is given a separate room in the museum. She suffered from vandalism several times, after which in 1956 she was placed in bulletproof glass. Because of this, it glares a lot, so seeing it can sometimes be problematic. Nevertheless, it is she who attracts the majority of visitors to the Louvre with her smile and fleeting glance.

There is a popular belief that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” has been making historians, art critics and ordinary people talk about itself for hundreds of years. This small portrait, which is exhibited in the Louvre, has been called "the most famous, the most discussed and the most parodied in the world." And deep studies of this canvas, which were carried out at different times, revealed many interesting secrets.

1. Who is she?

The true identity of the woman depicted in the portrait remains a mystery. Most scholars believe that this woman is 24-year-old Lisa Maria de Gherardini (aka Lisa del Giocondo), an Italian noblewoman born in Florence in 1479. The portrait was commissioned by Lisa's husband, Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, a silk and textile merchant. She gave birth to five children: Piero, Andrea, Camilla, Giocondo and Marietta.

According to other hypotheses, the painting depicts Caterina Sforza, Countess of Forlì, who became famous for her military conflict with Cesare Borgia. Another theory suggests that the young lady was the mistress of Giuliano Medici, the ruler of Florence, or Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua. There is a version that the woman in the portrait is da Vinci's mother, or even the great artist himself.

2. Gioconda's smile

The intriguing and mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa is perhaps one of the most enigmatic elements of Da Vinci's painting. For five centuries, they argued whether the girl in the portrait was smiling at all, whether she was happy or sad. Professor Margaret Livingston from Harvard University suggests that the smile is visible due to the specifics of the painting only when viewers look into the Mona Lisa's eyes.

Following the development of "emotion recognition" computer programs in 2005, Dutch researchers found that the painting expressed 83 percent happiness, 9 percent disgust, 6 percent fear, 2 percent anger, less than 1 percent neutral and 0 percent surprise. . However, many argue that Gioconda’s smile changes depending on where you look at the picture, from what angle and from what distance. When viewed close-up, small details give the impression that the face has a modest expression. But from afar it seems that Gioconda is smiling cheerfully.

3. Secret codes

Italian experts from the National Committee for Cultural Heritage of Italy, thanks to microscopic enlargement of the painting, discovered the presence of a series of letters and numbers applied to numerous elements of the painting’s canvas. Art historian Silvano Vinceti claims that the Mona Lisa's right eye contains the letters "LV", which theoretically stand for the artist's own name, Leonardo da Vinci. A faint outline of the letters "CE" or possibly "B" can be seen in the left eye. On the bridge in the background, the number "72" or the letter "L" could be seen, followed by a "2" painted on the arch of the bridge. One can only guess what the artist had in mind when he drew these letters and numbers in such a mysterious way, invisible to the naked eye.

4. Unknown bridge

What is often overlooked by the charm of Mona Lisa's face is the mysterious appearance in the background. Today, many are wondering what is this mysterious three-arched bridge in the background, and in general, what is the exact location of the foggy, mysterious landscape against which the Mona Lisa is painted.

Italian historian Carla Glori suggests that the bridge behind the woman's left shoulder is known as Ponte Gobbo or Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge"). It is located in Bobbio, a small village in the hills south of Piacenza in northern Italy. Glory's theory was based on the discovery of the number "72" secretly hidden in an image of a stone bridge. She suggests that this date dates back to 1472. In 1472 there was a catastrophic flood. The Trebbia River overflowed its banks and destroyed the Bobbio Bridge. In his book The Leonardo Enigma, Glory states that "Leonardo added the number 72 under the bridge to commemorate the devastating flood of the Trebbia River."

5. Anxious look

Surely, some wondered how it was possible that Gioconda’s gaze seemed to extend somewhere beyond the boundaries of the picture, but at the same time it was directed directly at the viewer. It doesn’t matter from which side you look at the picture, Gioconda continues to “look directly at the viewer.” It would seem that in our three-dimensional world, shadows and light on surfaces should “shift” depending on the viewing angle, but this does not apply to two-dimensional surfaces. This optical phenomenon can be explained by a scientific theory described by experts from Ohio University, which proves that an image can look the same regardless of the angle from which it is viewed.

Leonardo da Vinci's masterful manipulation of paint on canvas creates an extremely realistic sense of depth in the interplay of shadow and light. It is this phenomenon that creates perspective and gives the Mona Lisa its disturbing look.

6. Hidden painting behind the portrait

Using infrared and laser imaging technologies on the Mona Lisa, Canadian scientists in 2006 discovered da Vinci's rough sketches on the canvas, including changes in the position of the index and middle fingers of his left hand. These were far from the only discoveries in the painting - lace was also found on Mona Lisa's dress and a bedspread on her knees.

In 2015, French engineer Pascal Cotte used similar methods of projecting light beams of different wavelengths onto a canvas and then measuring the amount of light reflected. Interestingly, its discovery revealed a secret portrait painted over with a modern painting. Cott discovered four images underneath the contemporary image, including a portrait of a young woman with petite features and no smile. Various theories have emerged about the real identity of the woman in the painting, but her true identity may forever remain a mystery.

7. Pregnant Mona Lisa

Some art historians believe that the woman in the painting is Lisa del Giocondo, and she was pregnant at the time da Vinci painted her portrait. Her arms are crossed over her round belly, and there is historical evidence that del Giocondo was pregnant for the second time at the time of the painting, and that the portrait was painted in honor of this. In addition, infrared images indicate that she is wearing a drapery (veil) made of linen, which was commonly worn by pregnant women at the time. It has been suggested that this veil may have simply been a scarf or piece of cloth draped over her shoulders.

However, the Mona Lisa's arms crossed over her belly, the historically accurate timing of her pregnancy, and the use of a similar veil in Sandro Botticelli's portrait of a pregnant Esmeralda Brandini suggest that the Mona Lisa is smiling mysteriously while hiding a small baby bump.

8. Why is she considered beautiful?

Throughout history, Mona Lisa's portrait has been cited as an example of timeless beauty. It would be very naive to assume that the beauty and intrigue of the Mona Lisa is limited only to her gaze and her smile, since she seems to be the personification of the so-called golden ratio (a certain ratio of length to width is supposedly the most aesthetically pleasing proportion to the human eye). Present in natural structures, such as the spiral center of a sunflower, and man-made ones, such as the columns of the Parthenon, the golden ratio was called the “divine proportion” by Leonardo da Vinci himself.

If you draw a rectangle around Mona Lisa's face according to this ratio, her chin, crown and nose will be perfectly aligned. The predominance of this golden ratio in works of art perhaps explains the mysterious intrigue felt by those who see the portrait. The proportions of the Mona Lisa are considered the most pleasing to the eye, creating a feeling of natural balance and beauty. Who knew that mathematics could explain this feeling of enchantment

9. Theft

The Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911 by an Italian Louvre employee named Vincenzo Perugia. He believed that the painting had been stolen in Florence by Napoleon Bonaparte and wanted the painting to "return to its true home." For two years, the painting's location remained a complete mystery, with media outlets around the world speculating about the possible reasons for the painting's absence from the museum and its whereabouts. In 1913, Perugia contacted Italian art dealer Alfredo Geri and asked for monetary compensation from the Italian government in exchange for transporting the Mona Lisa back to Florence.

Considering that Perugia charged mere pennies for returning the painting to Italy (and kept it under the mattress in his apartment for 2 years), people suspected that the incident with the stolen painting was simply a ruse created to increase interest in the painting and the gallery. When it was discovered that the thief who was collaborating with Perugia was none other than the famous art forger Eduardo de Valferno, a theory emerged that the Mona Lisa was stolen in order to make a copy of the painting and sell fake copies to uninformed collectors for huge sums of money.

10. Is Mona Lisa healthy?

The mystery of the mysterious Mona Lisa may have finally been solved by a Boston doctor. Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra diagnosed Mona Lisa with hormonal imbalances when he noticed strange features of her appearance - a pale complexion, thinning hair and a slightly askew smile. Mehra works as director of the cardiovascular center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The doctor stated that he found it difficult to ignore clinical diagnoses. Mehra noticed the presence of a small fleshy bulge in the inner corner of her left eye, her sparse hair and receding hairline, lack of hair on her eyebrows and a bulge near her index finger. Combined with her yellow skin and a bulge in her neck (i.e., an enlarged thyroid gland), this led him to speculate that Gioconda's strange smile might be caused by muscle weakness.

Thus, he concluded that Mona Lisa suffered from a condition called hypothyroidism. Mehra continued his research into the historical conditions surrounding women's diets and found that iodine-deficient diets were common in the early 16th century. Since iodine is an essential nutrient that plays a role in maintaining thyroid health, the mystery of Mona Lisa's curious smile may finally be solved.

And in continuation of the topic, a story about...

Culture

The Mona Lisa, one of the most famous works of art in history, hides more than one portrait.

French scientist Pascal Cotte stated that discovered hidden portraits using light reflection technology.

The scientist said that he had been studying and analyzing the painting for more than 10 years.

"The result debunks many myths and forever changes our understanding of Leonardo's masterpiece", Kotte said.

Painting "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci

The scientist believes that one of the hidden portraits is the real portrait of Lisa de Giocondo, the woman with whom the Mona Lisa was painted.

With the help of reconstruction, you can see an image of the model looking to the side.

Instead of the famous direct gaze, the image of the model there is no trace of the mysterious smile, which has intrigued art lovers for more than 500 years.

Leonardo worked on the painting between 1503 and 1517 in Florence and then in France.

For a long time there were disputes about the identity of the Mona Lisa. For many centuries it was believed that this was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk merchant.

However, when Mr. Cotte made a reconstruction of Lisa Gherardini, he discovered a completely different "Mona Lisa".

In addition, he claims that there are two more images below the surface of the painting - the blurry outline of a portrait with a larger head and nose, larger hands, but smaller lips. The scientist also discovered another image in the style of the Madonna with an engraving by Leonardo in the form of a pearl rim.

Pascal Cottet used a technique known as the layer enhancement method, projecting intense radiation onto the painting and measuring the reflection, allowing what was between the layers of paint to be reconstructed. Thanks to this method, the scientist was able to look into the very heart of the famous painting.

Description of the painting "Mona Lisa"

"Mona Lisa" is considered one of the greatest treasures of Renaissance art. The painting is also known as La Gioconda and is considered one of the best examples of portrait art.

Despite its fame, the Mona Lisa, like all works by Leonardo da Vinci, was not signed or dated. The title was taken from biographer Giorgio Vasari's biography of Leonardo, published in the 1550s, which described the artist's agreement to paint a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant.

Leonardo worked on the piece for a long time, especially on the position of the model's hands. The mysterious smile and secret identity of the model is a source of constant research and fascination.

Price of the painting "Mona Lisa"

The Mona Lisa is now in the Louvre in Paris and is considered the most valuable painting in the world, it is insured against inflation for $782 million.

Leonardo da Vinci, the genius of the Renaissance, was not only one of the greatest artists, but also a great sculptor, musician, architect, natural history researcher and talented inventor. He was born in 1452 and died in 1519. He is one of the luminaries of that brilliant period of European history of the 15th and 16th centuries, which gave the world the greatest artists. Everyone knows the names of Raphael, Titian, Bellini, Michelangelo - these are just a few worthy of mention. However, no one achieved such mastery in so many different areas as Leonardo da Vinci.

The Mona Lisa is considered Leonardo's most famous painting. We can see it in Paris, in the Louvre. Rows of long galleries, on the walls - precious evidence of the creative genius of man; every sketch, every painting is a treasure trove of the historical past, living evidence of a select few.

Proceed through the suite of halls and you will come to a small gallery, the so-called Square Room, a continuation of these long galleries, but still isolated from them. There are only a few paintings on its walls, there are several soft chairs in the center, and there is always a group of silent visitors crowding in front of the painting in the center, to the left of the entrance, in front of the Mona Lisa.

Some visitors sit quietly contemplating and reflecting, perhaps on the legends and stories generated over the 400 years of this unique painting, or perhaps they are thoughtfully trying to absorb all the beauty of this wonderful masterpiece, the most famous work of fine art and, of course, , one of man's greatest creations.

Next to this painting, the beautiful canvases surrounding it fade and lose their charm. Raphael, Titian, Perugino - here they seem only a worthy frame, worthy companions of this unsurpassed masterpiece.

Aren't they from the same era? Weren't their creators fans of this great painting?

Raphael, this immortal genius, this excellent draftsman, was a passionate admirer of Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” and even, inspired by the masterpiece, left us his sketch of this painting.

Hanging in the Louvre, surrounded by beautiful paintings by Raphael and Perugino, the Mona Lisa is a great center of attraction for visitors around the world; Among them are art connoisseurs and critics, tourists and simply sentimental lovers.

Like many paintings of that period, this portrait did not escape the ravages of time and damage caused by the hands of inept restorers. But despite all this, he has not lost his special beauty and charm, and his beautiful face still radiates a calm and bewitching smile.

The painting is only 30 inches tall and shows the Mona Lisa seated on a low folding chair; her body is turned to the left, her right hand resting on her left forearm. The face is facing the viewer at a slight angle, while the brown eyes look straight at you.

Brown hair, parted in the middle and smoothly combed to the temples, falls in beautiful soft curls to the shoulders. A transparent veil is thrown over the head and curls over the shoulders. The dress, originally a greenish color with a plunging neckline, is enlivened by lighter sleeves that must once have been yellow.

In the background is a fantastic landscape with hills and mountains, warm and soft tones, with a gradually brightening sky above it. The two columns at the edges of the landscape are covered by the current picture frame. All the details in this painting are beautiful, but what grabs your attention first of all is the face.

The picture cannot be described in words: the longer you look at it, the more its impact on you increases, and you begin to feel that amazing charm that has captivated so many people over the centuries.

The famous Italian architect and historian Vasari, who lived in that brilliant era, wrote about the Mona Lisa:

“Leonardo agreed to paint a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, for Francesco del Giocondo. He wrote it for four years and then left it unfinished. Now this painting is owned by the French King Francis. Anyone who wants to know how close art can come to a natural original should carefully consider this beautiful head.

All its details are executed with the greatest diligence. The eyes have the same shine and are just as moisturized as in life. Around them we see faint reddish-blue circles, and the eyelashes could only have been painted with a very skillful brush. You can notice where the eyebrows are wider and where they become thinner, emerging from the pores of the skin and rounding downwards. Everything is as natural as it can be portrayed. Small, beautifully carved nostrils, pinkish and delicate, executed with the greatest truth. The mouth, the corners of the lips, where the pink tint turns into the natural, vibrant complexion, are written so superbly that they seem not drawn, but as if they were living flesh and blood.

Anyone who looks closely at the hollow in the neck begins to think that he is about to be able to see the pulse beating. Indeed, this portrait is painted so perfectly that it makes any established artist, and indeed anyone who looks at it, tremble with excitement.