An entire wall of the Louvre is reserved for the Mona Lisa, where a thick glass plate protects her from the weather and from the gazes of the visitors who cross hers by the thousands. There are many scholars who have tried to understand her facial features; many interpretations – without understanding. Her charm and mysterious smile enchant her. A smile that finds several versions, depending on how you look at it.
Critics consider the painting to be Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece, and even if there are hundreds of important paintings in the Louvre, it is to her, the Mona Lisa, that we bow down; poems, operas and novels have been dedicated to her.
It is a painting executed on a poplar panel, where an extremely thin layer of pigment has been applied with great skill. The colors were superimposed by veils so thin that the hard white base coat – with which the table was prepared -, transpired giving the whole an extraordinary luminosity. The framework of paintings measures just - 76 centimeters by 53 centimeters - and was created by Leonardo in Florence over 500 years ago.
Much of the painting's magic lies in the way the hands, resting one on the other, lead the gaze around the figure, while the slightly turned head and eyes bring it back to the hands. The shades of light and shadow that create form and volume, together with the composition and style of the painting, marked a new stage in the history of painting.
The absence of jewels and the hair falling straight to the shoulders were also a bold innovation, which opened the eyes of most painters to the possibilities of painting simple beauties – of low social status.
However, the sta-famous and slightly ironic smile was not new. In fact, it was already present on the faces of Gothic statues at Rheims and other cathedrals. We may never know who the Mona Lisa was.
The story continues in MANIFESTO12
