Description of the Mona Lisa painting in English. Analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's work of art "Mona Lisa"

Mona Lisa. Who is she? - article

Mona Lisa. Who is she?

The Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a portrait of a young woman painted by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci around 1503. The painting is one of the most famous works of painting in the world. Belongs to the Renaissance. Exhibited at the Louvre (Paris, France).

Story

In no other painting by Leonardo is the depth and haze of the atmosphere conveyed with such perfection as in the Mona Lisa. This aerial perspective is probably the best executed. The Mona Lisa has gained worldwide fame not only because of the quality of Leonardo's work, which impresses both artistic amateurs and professionals. The painting was studied by historians and copied by painters, but for a long time it would have remained known only to art connoisseurs if not for its exceptional history. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen and only three years later, thanks to a coincidence, was returned to the museum. During this time, the Mona Lisa remained on the covers of newspapers and magazines around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Mona Lisa was copied more often than any other painting. Since then, the painting has become an object of cult and worship as a masterpiece of world classics.

The mystery of the model

The person depicted in the portrait is difficult to identify. Until today, many controversial and sometimes absurd opinions have been expressed on this matter:

The wife of the Florentine merchant del Giocondo
Isabella of Este
Just the perfect woman
A young man in women's clothing
Self-portrait of Leonardo

The mystery that surrounds the stranger to this day attracts millions of visitors to the Louvre every year.

In 1517, Cardinal Louis of Aragon visited Leonardo in his studio in France. A description of this visit was made by the secretary of Cardinal Antonio de Beatis: “On October 10, 1517, Monsignor and others like him visited in one of the remote parts of Amboise visited Messire Leonardo da Vinci, a Florentine, a gray-bearded old man, more than 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. Anne with Mary and the Christ Child; 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, “a certain Florentine lady” means 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 Medici could not have any connection with the Mona Lisa.

According to Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), the author of biographies of Italian artists, Mona Lisa (short for Madonna Lisa) was the wife of a Florentine man named Francesco del Giocondo, whose portrait Leonardo spent four years on, but still left its unfinished.

Vasari expresses a very laudatory opinion about the quality of this painting: “Any person who wants to see how well art can imitate nature can easily see this from the example of the head, because here Leonardo has reproduced all the details... The eyes are filled with brilliance and moisture, like living people... The delicate pink nose seems real. The red tone of the mouth harmoniously matches the color of her face... No matter who looked closely at her neck, it seemed to everyone that her pulse was beating...". He also explains the slight smile on her face: “Leonardo allegedly invited musicians and clowns to entertain the lady, who was bored from posing for a long time.”

This story may be true, but most likely Vasari simply added it to Leonardo’s biography for the amusement of readers. Vasari's description 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. 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.

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 uninfluential silk merchant Francesco Giocondo, who ordered a portrait of his third wife Lisa from the artist. Despite the words of this anonymous contemporary, many researchers still doubt the possibility that the Mona Lisa was painted in Florence (1500-1505). The refined technique indicates a later creation of the painting. In addition, at this time Leonardo was so busy working on the “Battle of Anghiari” that he even refused Princess Isabella d’Este to accept her order. Could a simple merchant then persuade the famous master to paint a portrait of his wife?

It is also interesting 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 among visitors to the artist’s studio and reached Vasari almost fifty years later.

Composition

A careful analysis of the composition leads to the conclusion that Leonardo did not seek to create an individual portrait. “Mona Lisa” became the realization of the artist’s ideas expressed in his treatise on painting. Leonardo's approach to his work has always been scientific. Therefore, the Mona Lisa, which he spent many years creating, became a beautiful, but at the same time inaccessible and insensitive image. She seems voluptuous and cold at the same time. Despite the fact that Giaconda’s gaze is directed at us, a visual barrier has been created between us and her - the arm of a chair, acting as a partition. Such a concept excludes the possibility of intimate dialogue, as for example in the portrait of Balthazar Castiglione (exhibited in the Louvre, Paris), painted by Raphael about ten years later. However, our gaze constantly returns to her illuminated face, surrounded as if by a frame of dark hair hidden under a transparent veil, shadows on her neck and a dark, smoky background landscape. Against the backdrop of distant mountains, the figure gives the impression of being monumental, although the format of the painting is small (77x53 cm). This monumentality, inherent in sublime divine beings, keeps us mere mortals at a respectful distance and at the same time makes us strive unsuccessfully for the unattainable. It is not for nothing that Leonardo chose the position of the model, which is very similar to the positions of the Virgin Mary in Italian paintings of the 15th century. Additional distance is created by artificiality, which arises from the impeccable sfumato-effect (refusal of clear outlines in favor of creating an airy impression). It must be assumed that Leonardo actually completely freed himself from portrait likeness in favor of creating the illusion of atmosphere and a living, breathing body using a plane, paints and a brush. For us, Gioconda will forever remain Leonardo's masterpiece.

The detective story of the Mona Lisa

For a long time, Mona Lisa would have been known only to fine art connoisseurs, if not for her exceptional history, which made her world famous.

Since the beginning of the sixteenth century, the painting, acquired by Francis I after the death of Leonardo, remained in the royal collection. From 1793 it was placed in the Central Museum of Arts in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa has always remained in the Louvre as one of the treasures of the national collection. 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. 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 the Mona Lisa. Finally, on January 1, 1914, the painting returned to France.

In the twentieth century, the painting almost never left the Louvre, visiting the USA in 1963 and Japan in 1974. The trips only cemented the success and fame of the film.

Based on Wikipedia materials

The history of the painting “Mona Lisa” excites more than one human generation. Leonardo da Vinci began work on his immortal masterpiece around 1503. The artist painted a portrait of the wife of a rich Florentine man named Francesco Giocondo. The girl's name was Mona Lisa. The second title of the painting - "La Gioconda" - is somehow closer to a wider audience.

Already the master's contemporaries appreciated the portrait to the highest degree. The popularity of the image was so enormous that later legends were composed about its writing and various theories were put forward.

How does she look

What does the Mona Lisa look like? The description is as follows: the immortal creation measures 77 by 53 cm. The painting is painted in oil on a poplar board. It depicts a woman sitting in a chair. She was positioned against the backdrop of the landscape. In her portrait, the viewer is attracted by her appearance - her extraordinary gaze, as if constantly following the beholder, which radiates reason and will. But an even greater mystery is the world-famous smile of Gioconda. It is barely perceptible, and its meaning seems to elude the person looking at the picture. It is this elusiveness that brings something to the image that creates a desire to look at it again and again.

There are very few portraits in world art that can compare with the “Mona Lisa” in the power of expression of human individuality, conveyed in the unity of intellect and character. Where the Mona Lisa painting is located, there is a spirit of mystery and mystery. The famous portrait of da Vinci differs from all other captured images of the Quattrocento period by its unusual intellectual charge.

“La Gioconda” emanates a feeling of strength, which is an organic combination of a feeling of personal freedom and inner composure. A woman's smile in no way conveys disdain or superiority. It is perceived as the result of complete self-control and calm self-confidence.

Worldwide fame

“Mona Lisa” (original) would have been known for a long time only to a sophisticated and subtle connoisseur of fine art, if one amazing story had not happened to her, which brought the canvas world-famous popularity.

From the very beginning of the 16th century, the masterpiece was preserved in the royal collection. He got here thanks to who bought it after the death of Leonardo. In 1793, the image was placed in the Louvre. Most people know this museum as the home of the Mona Lisa. But that’s not what we’re talking about now.

So, La Gioconda became a masterpiece of national importance and was permanently located only in the Louvre. In 1911 (August 21), museum employee Vincenzo Perugia, a mirror maker from Italy, stole the portrait. Definitely no one was able to find out the true purpose of the crime. Perhaps Vincenzo intended to return the painting to its historical homeland. Two years later, the painting was found in Italy. Perugia himself helped discover the image: he responded to a newspaper ad and decided to sell the Mona Lisa. At the beginning of January 1914, La Gioconda returned to the Louvre.

Secret identity

It is difficult to identify the person depicted on the canvas. There are many controversial hypotheses presented on this matter. Researchers disagree. Adherents of various theories put forward the following statements regarding the identity of Mona Lisa: some of them are sure that this is Isabella from Este. The second is that in the picture there is a young man dressed as a woman. Still others are inclined to believe that this is the wife of the noble Florentine del Giocondo. They also say that this is an ordinary or da Vinci’s own self-portrait.

The mystery of the Mona Lisa remains unknown today. In 1517, Cardinal Louis of Aragon visited the great master. The monsignor's secretary described this meeting. He recorded that Leonardo da Vinci showed Louis three of his paintings. One depicted a Florentine lady, who was painted from life at the request of Giuliano de' Medici. The second depicted the face of a young man. And the third painting turned out to be a portrait of Mary with the newborn Jesus.

Some historians claim that the Florentine lady was the Mona Lisa. But perhaps it was some other portrait, from which there are no copies and there is not even evidence left about it. Therefore, the Medici could not have anything to do with the Mona Lisa.

How to find a painting

Where the painting “Mona Lisa” is located is known to all inhabitants of our planet. It is preserved in the Louvre. Each of the museum signs leads specifically to this painting. Japanese television bought an entire room in the royal palace for the portrait. And the image itself is covered with thick armor. There are always a couple of guards next to the portrait, and countless visitors flock here. You can see “La Gioconda” only in the Louvre, and nowhere else. In the middle of the last century, the masterpiece was removed from the museum twice, but the management of the institution decided never to transport the Mona Lisa outside its borders again. The part of the Louvre called Denon, the seventh hall of painting in Italy, boasts that on its wall hangs the face of the most famous woman in the history of art.

Shades and shadows

Scientists all over the planet cannot calm down, trying to unravel the secrets of the Mona Lisa portrait (the museum where it is located is listed above). A few years ago they resorted to using it in order to understand how the master created shadows on his canvas. Philip Walter and his colleagues examined seven paintings by da Vinci, including La Gioconda. X-rays make it possible to study a portrait without damaging the layers of paint.

During the research, it was found that Leonardo used the “sfumato” technique, which was popular in his time. She made possible soft transitions of color or shades on the canvas.

Walter's most shocking discovery was that not a single fingerprint or stroke could be seen in the painting. Everything was done simply perfectly, and therefore it is incredibly difficult to analyze the Mona Lisa.

Scientists have found that Leonardo had the ability to apply layers whose thickness was only two micrometers, and the total step thickness was no more than 30-40 microns.

An invaluable masterpiece

How much is the Mona Lisa worth now? Its price is not determined in banknotes. But the legendary “La Gioconda” is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the canvas insured for the largest amount. In 1962 it was one hundred million dollars. But today the Louvre spends this money not on insurance, but on security. Taking into account the inflation that has occurred, in 2006 this amount would have been equivalent to 670 million US dollars. Thus, the image of Mona Lisa is the most expensive portrait on Earth.

A mystery shrouded in darkness

"La Gioconda" raises a lot of questions. One of them is why a woman has no eyebrows. The end of the 15th century and the beginning of the next century are known for the fact that completely removed eyebrows were in fashion then. So, we can conclude that the lady depicted on the canvas followed all the style trends, and therefore her eyebrows were plucked. But engineer from France Pascal Cote claims that there were eyebrows after all.

Using a state-of-the-art scanner, the researcher made a copy of the canvas, on which traces of eyebrows were found. Pascal is sure that these strokes were there initially, but were later erased.

The reasons for this could be overzealous intentions to preserve the masterpiece. Over the course of five centuries, the canvas was often cleaned, and therefore small elements on it could easily be erased.

The unsuccessful attempt to restore the Mona Lisa is also cited by Cote as the “missing” of the eyebrows. But it is still not clear how they could have completely disappeared.

At least with one eye

The reader already knows where the painting “Mona Lisa” is located. And, probably, every person wants at least once in their life, from afar, to see the original that conquered the world. This portrait holds so many secrets and mysteries that it is simply impossible not to try to solve at least one of them. But no one has succeeded yet. All of them are known only to Leonardo, who took them with him, leaving only mysteries and his priceless, immortal masterpiece for future generations.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous works of painting in the whole world.

Nowadays, this painting is in the Louvre in Paris.

The creation of the painting and the model depicted on it were surrounded by many legends and rumors, and even today, when there are practically no blank spots left in the history of La Gioconda, myths and legends continue to circulate among many not particularly educated people.

Who is Mona Lisa?

The identity of the girl depicted is quite known today. It is believed that this is Lisa Gherardini, a famous resident of Florence who belonged to an aristocratic but impoverished family.

Gioconda is apparently her married name; Her husband was a successful silk merchant, Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo. It is known that Lisa and her husband gave birth to six children and led a measured life, typical of wealthy citizens of Florence.

One might think that the marriage was concluded for love, but at the same time it also had additional benefits for both spouses: Lisa married into a representative of a richer family, and through her Francesco became related to an old family. More recently, in 2015, scientists discovered the grave of Lisa Gherardini - near one of the ancient Italian churches.

Creating a painting

Leonardo da Vinci immediately took on this order and devoted himself to it completely, literally with some kind of passion. And in the future, the artist was closely attached to his portrait, carried it with him everywhere, and when, at a late age, he decided to leave Italy for France, he took with him “La Gioconda” along with several selected works of his.

What was the reason for Leonardo’s attitude towards this painting? It is believed that the great artist had a love affair with Lisa. However, it is possible that the painter valued this painting as an example of the highest flowering of his talent: “La Gioconda” truly turned out to be extraordinary for its time.

Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) photo

It is interesting that Leonardo never gave the portrait to the customer, but took it with him to France, where its first owner was King Francis I. Perhaps this action could be due to the fact that the master did not finish the canvas on time and continued painting the painting already after leaving: the famous Renaissance writer Giorgio Vasari reports that Leonardo “never finished” his painting.

Vasari, in his biography of Leonardo, reports many facts about the painting of this painting, but not all of them are reliable. Thus, he writes that the artist created the picture over four years, which is a clear exaggeration.

He also writes that while Lisa was posing, there was a whole group of jesters in the studio entertaining the girl, thanks to which Leonardo was able to portray a smile on her face, and not the sadness that was standard for that time. However, most likely, Vasari composed the story about the jesters himself for the amusement of readers, using the girl’s surname - after all, “Gioconda” means “playing”, “laughing”.

However, it can be noted that Vasari was attracted to this picture not so much by realism as such, but by the amazing rendering of physical effects and the smallest details of the image. Apparently, the writer described the picture from memory or from the stories of other eyewitnesses.

Some myths about the painting

Back at the end of the 19th century, Gruye wrote that “La Gioconda” has been literally depriving people of their minds for several centuries. Many people wondered when contemplating this amazing portrait, which is why it became surrounded by many legends.

According to one of them, in the portrait Leonardo allegorically depicted... himself, which is allegedly confirmed by the coincidence of small details of the face;
According to another, the painting depicts a young man in women's clothing - for example, Salai, Leonardo's student;
Another version says that the picture depicts simply an ideal woman, some kind of abstract image. All of these versions are now recognized as erroneous.

Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa painting.

What is the secret of the magical effect of this portrait? Until the end of his days, Leonardo did not part with this portrait. Portrait of Mono Lisa ( Mona- this is the lady), also known as Mona Lisa, is written on a wooden board made of poplar. Dimensions: 77 by 53 cm. There is no signature or date of creation on the painting, as on all other works of Leonardo.

At first glance, the picture looks very simple: it does not amaze us with the brightness of the colors, or the luxury of the clothes of the woman depicted here, or, in fact, with the beauty of the model herself. Nothing distracts our attention from Gioconda’s gaze, riveting to you. It is here that the intrigue arises, which is the main attraction of this portrait. What emerges is how the artist builds contact between the model and the viewer. The more we look at her, the more we have a desire to penetrate her inner world. But this is extremely difficult to do, because, on the one hand, it attracts us, on the other hand, it sets, as it were, an exact boundary that we cannot cross. This is one of the main intrigues of this portrait. It is no coincidence that it is said: “We do not look at Gioconda as much as she looks at us for 500 years, for many generations of those who admired her.” A smile and a look are the main thing, therefore, the main thing here is a woman’s face. Everything else is like details that are subordinate to this main thing, including the hands, which are also extremely important in this portrait. The compositional structure is distinguished by rigor, precision and extreme simplicity, as well as mathematical precision, which is present here in the way the composition is constructed. The lower part of the figure is projected onto a dark background. She sits on the balcony, loggia, is projected onto this dark background and seems to merge with it in a not very clearly identified way. While the upper part stands out clearly against the background of the distant landscape. On the right and left there are very narrow stripes, parts of the columns of their edges, which are always covered by the picture frame. These columns support the loggia. The figure dominates the landscape. And the landscape is understood here as a kind of universal image of nature. Following the principle of harmony, the artist achieved a feeling of freedom and naturalness in the model’s pose. She is not posing, she is simply present here as the absolute dominant figure in the picture. Thus, the idea is felt when the human figure dominates in this picture over the landscape, over this image of the world, it seems to conquer space and time. The upper and lower parts of the composition are related to each other according to the rule of the “golden ratio”, like 3 to 5. It was Leonardo who discovered this rule, which Raphael and other masters of the High Renaissance followed. The figure is constructed in such a way that it forms a fairly clear pyramid (algebra and geometry). If you draw a vertical line exactly in the center, then this vertical line will pass through the pupil of Mona Lisa, exactly through the pupil of the left eye. Thus, the artist clearly knew how to orient a figure that would clearly look at us, and here the contact with the viewer became clearly expressed, perhaps in revealing the model, her character, her individual traits. This mathematical law worked. The shape of a circle is repeated many times here. Mona Lisa's head fits exactly into the circle, then different lines repeat the shape of a semicircle, echoing the circle: this is the neckline of the dress, the positions of the hands and other details. Further, this correlates in one way or another with motives, with movement, with the rhythms of the landscape that we see from afar. Moreover, mathematical accuracy did not exclude naturalness. This is the amazing skill of Leonardo, and the miracle that he was able to embody in this portrait. This model is in certain contact with us in certain relationships. She attracts, she fascinates, she pulls us into her field and at the same time does not let us in. This is one of the magic of this portrait. Gioconda is very natural: natural face, simple hairstyle, hair hanging down to her shoulders in loose strands, her head covered with a transparent veil, a very simple dark-colored dress, no jewelry, the fashion of the time, everything is very simple. The relationship between landscape and figure, the relationship between figure and background is very interesting. Firstly, we see them from different points of view, we see the figure frontally, and we see the landscape background as if from above. The horizon line is different: on the left side it is high, because the horizon line is covered by a line of high mountains. These mountains end high in relation to the image of the head of Gioconda. We turn our gaze to the right, and there we see the horizon line, which seems to be descending. If on the left side Leonardo seems to blur the border of the figure with a landscape, i.e. we do not see a clear outline of the border, then when our gaze rises up and then begins to smoothly descend down the right side, then the contours of the border of Mona Lisa’s head acquire clarity, sharpness, are clearly outlined against the sky and on the right side are already more clearly separated from the landscape. What effect does this create? Gioconda begins to dominate the world that is located around her. Different points of view: frontal and top view reinforce this. It is assumed that the landscape is a northern landscape, a Lombard landscape in the vicinity of Milan, or rather north of Milan. The landscape was made by Leonardo in the second Milanese period, painted under the impression of a completely different Lombard nature. It is northern, it is mysterious, the distances do not have such clarity, the mountains are high and have completely different outlines than the gentle contours of the Tuscan hills. There are no high mountains in Tuscany (the western coast of central Italy), so the atmosphere of mystery of the landscape, where there is such a creeping fog, a winding surface of water, either a river or a lake that is lost somewhere in a gorge, snow-capped mountain peaks - all this can be seen in Lombardy north of Milan in the vicinity of the town of Varesi. Leonardo, while in Milan, having already painted the portrait, he continued to work on it and completed the landscape there. Leonardo creates a portrait not just from life, but puts into it more serious, more general and deeper concepts. The main thing remains, of course, the figure for all significant moments of the landscape and general structures. And here his main means of expression is light and shadow. Because light-shadow allows the artist to create mobility of facial expression, which is why they say that this face can express joy, sadness, and completely different shades of human emotions. Leonardo knew how to emphasize with shadow, in some places to reveal a form, and in other places, on the contrary, to sort of level it out. Leonardo has no boundaries of shadows with clear contrasting shadows. Everything is movement, and this movement of light and shadow gives rise to internal movement, the movement of the internal state of the model. It is light that becomes for Leonardo the main means of dramatic construction of the picture and psychological revelation of character. The color of the painting is changed due to the yellowed varnish, for example, the landscape is not green, this is the result of the interaction of the yellow varnish with the blue pigment in which the landscape is painted, giving a green color. Leonardo used one very important technique: he made color preparation for painting below on the levels of the parapet (a wall enclosing something) - in red, i.e. warm, and blue in the upper part. Thus, the upper part, where the face turned out to be more luminous, is coolish, while below, where there is more shadow, the warm lower layer shines through. Leonardo put his soul into this portrait. It seems that the woman is alive, that she is broadcasting something to us, that she wants to say something. Who is this woman?

Giorgio Vasari 1568 gives a detailed description: Francesco del Giocondo invited Leonardo to paint a portrait of his wife Mono Lisa. This painting is in France, writes Vasari. The portrait itself is unusual because life itself could not be different. In 1538, her husband died, the children and Mono Lisa herself and numerous relatives were alive. Her real name was Lisa Geraldini, born in 1579. Her husband is 14 years older than Lisa. This was his second marriage. Gioconda in Italian means cheerful, joyful. She is 16 and he is 30. Francesco del Giocondo was a wealthy man and was friends with Leonardo’s father. In 1502, the second son of Mono Lisa was born, (Andrea) in 1503. The portrait was begun shortly after this event. The information provided by Vasari is reliable. Results: this is a portrait of a real person, no matter who the model is, the portrait itself does not change 1503-1505. did not bring it to perfection, the landscape was painted in Milan, returning to the portrait more than once, willy-nilly he moved further and further away from the model, more and more generalizing and filling the image with his ideas about the world. As a result, the portrait of Gioconda turned into an almost symbolic image: a brilliant idea of a person in general, in the unity of his physical, mental and mental properties. The true miracle of this work lies in the fact that the artist managed to unite the soul and body of the depicted woman and make them live one life. And this life is happening before our eyes - this is the main miracle of this picture.

The painting is located in France in the Louvre Museum.

This story may be true, but most likely Vasari simply added it to Leonardo’s biography for the amusement of readers. Vasari's description also contains an accurate description of the eyebrows, which are missing from the painting. This inaccuracy could only arise if the author described the picture from memory or from the stories of others. 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.

Composition

A careful analysis of the composition leads to the conclusion that Leonardo did not seek to create an individual portrait. “Mona Lisa” became the realization of the artist’s ideas expressed in his treatise on painting. Leonardo's approach to his work has always been scientific. Therefore, the Mona Lisa, which he spent many years creating, became a beautiful, but at the same time inaccessible and insensitive image. She seems voluptuous and cold at the same time. Despite the fact that Gioconda's gaze is directed at us, a visual barrier has been created between us and her - the arm of a chair, acting as a partition. Such a concept excludes the possibility of intimate dialogue, as for example in the portrait of Balthazar Castiglione (exhibited in the Louvre, Paris), painted by Raphael about ten years later. However, our gaze constantly returns to her illuminated face, surrounded as if by a frame of dark hair hidden under a transparent veil, shadows on her neck and a dark, smoky background landscape. Against the backdrop of distant mountains, the figure gives the impression of being monumental, although the format of the painting is small (77x53 cm). This monumentality, inherent in sublime divine beings, keeps us mere mortals at a respectful distance and at the same time makes us strive unsuccessfully for the unattainable. It is not for nothing that Leonardo chose the position of the model, which is very similar to the positions of the Virgin Mary in Italian paintings of the 15th century. Additional distance is created by the artificiality that arises from the impeccable sfumato effect (refusal of clear outlines in favor of creating an airy impression). It must be assumed that Leonardo actually completely freed himself from portrait likeness in favor of creating the illusion of atmosphere and a living, breathing body using a plane, paints and a brush. For us, Gioconda will forever remain Leonardo's masterpiece.

The detective story of the Mona Lisa

For a long time, Mona Lisa would have been known only to fine art connoisseurs, if not for her exceptional history, which made her world famous.

Leonardo da Vinci "La Gioconda":
History of the painting

On August 22, 1911, the world famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci “La Gioconda” disappeared from the Square Hall of the Louvre. At 1 p.m., when the museum opened to visitors, she was not there. Confusion began among the Louvre workers. The network announced that the museum was closing for the whole day due to a water supply failure.

The prefect of police appeared with a detachment of inspectors. All exits from the Louvre were closed, and the museum began to be searched. But it is impossible to check the ancient palace of the French kings with an area of 198 square meters in one day. However, by the end of the day, the police still managed to find a glass case and frame from the Mona Lisa on the landing of a small service staircase. The painting itself - a rectangle measuring 54x79 centimeters - disappeared without a trace.

“The loss of La Gioconda is a national disaster,” wrote the French magazine Illustration, “since it is almost certain that whoever committed this theft cannot derive any benefit from it. It must be feared that he, in fear of being caught, may destroy this fragile work.”

The magazine announced a reward: “40,000 francs to the one who brings “La Gioconda” to the editorial office of the magazine. 20,000 francs to anyone who can point out where the painting can be found. 45,000 to the one who returns La Gioconda before September 1.” The first of September passed, but there was no picture. Then Illustration published a new proposal: “The editors guarantee complete secrecy to whoever brings “La Gioconda.” They’ll give him 45,000 in cash and won’t even ask him his name.” But no one came.

Month after month passed. All this time, the portrait of the beautiful Florentine woman lay hidden in a heap of rubbish on the third floor of the large Parisian house “Cité du Heroes”, in which Italian seasonal workers lived.

A few more months passed, a year, two...
One day, Italian antique dealer Alfredo Geri received a letter from Paris. On bad school paper, in clumsy letters, a certain Vincenzo Leopardi offered to buy an antique dealer the portrait of Mona Lisa that had disappeared from the Louvre. Leopardi wrote that he wanted to return one of the best works of Italian art to his homeland.
This letter was sent in November 1913.
When, after long negotiations, correspondence and meetings, Leopardi delivered the painting to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, he said:
“This is a good, holy thing! The Louvre is chock full of treasures that rightfully belong to Italy. I wouldn’t be an Italian if I looked at this with indifference!”

Fortunately, the two years and three months that the Mona Lisa spent in captivity did not affect the painting. Under police protection, La Gioconda was exhibited in Rome, Florence, Milan, and then, after a solemn farewell ceremony, it left for Paris.

The investigation into the case of Perugia (this is the real name of the kidnapper) lasted for several months. The arrested man did not hide anything and said that he periodically worked in the Louvre as a glazier. During this time, he explored the halls of the art gallery and met many museum employees. He openly stated that he had long ago decided to steal La Gioconda.

Peruggi did not know the history of painting well. He sincerely and naively believed that La Gioconda was taken from Italy during the time of Napoleon.
Meanwhile, Leonardo da Vinci himself brought it to France and sold it to the French King Francis I for 4,000 ecus - a huge amount at that time. This painting adorned the Golden Cabinet of the royal castle in Fontainebleau for a long time; under Louis XIV it was moved to Versailles, and after the revolution it was transferred to the Louvre.

After a 20-year stay in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci returned to Florence. How things have changed in his hometown! Those whom he left here were already at the height of their fame; and he, who once enjoyed universal worship, has almost been forgotten. His old friends, caught in a whirlwind of unrest and unrest, changed a lot... One of them became a monk; another, in despair over the death of the frantic Savonarola, gave up painting and decided to spend the rest of his days in the Santa Maria Novella hospital; the third, aged in spirit and body, could no longer be Leonardo’s former comrade.

Only P. Perugino, already experienced in everyday affairs, talked with Leonardo in the old way and gave him useful advice. His words were true, and Leonardo da Vinci also really needed these tips. In the service of the duke, he did not earn money for a comfortable life and returned to Florence with meager funds. Leonardo never even thought about large and serious works, and no one ordered them for him. To write at his own risk for the love of art, he had neither money nor time. The entire Florentine nobility strove for mediocre masters, and the brilliant da Vinci lived in poverty, content with the crumbs that fell to him from the orders of his lucky brothers.
But in Florence, Leonardo da Vinci created his masterpiece of masterpieces - the famous painting “La Gioconda”.

Soviet art critic I. Dolgopolov noted that writing about this painting “is simply scary, because poets, prose writers, and art critics have written hundreds of books about it. There are countless publications in which every inch of this picture is carefully studied. And although the story of its creation is quite well known, the title of the painting, the date of its painting and even the city in which the great Leonardo met his model are questioned.”

Giorgio Vasari in his “Biographies” reports about this painting: “Leonardo undertook to make for Francesco del Giocondo a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife.”
As some researchers now suggest, Vasari was apparently mistaken. The latest research shows that the painting does not depict the wife of the Florentine nobleman del Giocondo, but some other high-ranking lady. M.A. Gukovsky, for example, wrote several decades ago that this portrait conveys the features of one of the many ladies of Giulio Medici’s heart and was made according to his order. This is unequivocally reported by Antonio de Beatis, who saw the portrait in Leonardo’s studio in France.

In his diary dated October 10, 1517, he reports: “In one of the suburbs, Mr. Cardinal went with us sinners to see Mr. Luonardo Vinci, a Florentine... an excellent painter of our time. The latter showed his lordship three paintings - one of a certain Florentine lady, painted from life, at the request of the late Magnificent Giulio Medici.

Many researchers were amazed why the merchant del Giocondo did not leave a portrait of his wife. Indeed, the portrait became the property of the artist. And this fact is also perceived by some as an argument in favor of the fact that Leonardo did not depict the Mona Lisa. But perhaps the Florentine was quite amazed and surprised? Maybe he simply did not recognize his young wife Mona Lisa Gherardini in the goddess depicted? But Leonardo himself, who painted the portrait for four years and invested so much in it, could not part with it and took the painting away from Florence?

Be that as it may, in fact, thanks to D. Vasari, this female image entered the history of world culture under the name “Mona Lisa”, or “Gioconda”. Was she beautiful? Probably, but there were many women in Florence more beautiful than her.
However, Mona Lisa was surprisingly attractive, although her facial features were not harmonious. A small smiling mouth, soft hair falling onto the shoulders...
“But her fully developed figure,” writes M. Alpatov, “was perfect, and her well-groomed hands were especially perfect in shape. But what was remarkable about her, despite her wealth, fashionably plucked eyebrows, rouge and a lot of jewelry on her hands and neck, was the simplicity and naturalness spilled throughout her entire appearance...
And then her face lit up with a smile and became unusually attractive for the artist - embarrassed and a little sly, as if the lost playfulness of youth and something hidden in the depths of his soul, unsolved, had returned to him.”

Leonardo resorted to all sorts of tricks to ensure that his model didn’t get bored during the sessions. In a beautifully decorated room, among flowers and luxurious furniture, musicians sat, delighting the ears with singing and music, and a beautiful, sophisticated artist watched for a wondrous smile on the face of Mona Lisa.
He invited jesters and clowns, but the music did not quite satisfy Mona Lisa. She listened to well-known tunes with a bored face, and the magician-juggler didn’t really revive her either. And then Leonardo told her a fairy tale.

Once upon a time there lived a poor man, and he had four sons; three were smart, and one was this and that. - neither intelligence nor stupidity. Yes, however, they could not judge his intelligence properly: he was more silent and loved to walk in the field, to the sea, listen and think to himself; I also loved looking at the stars at night.

And then death came for the father. Before taking his own life, he called his children to him and told them:
“My sons, I will soon die. As soon as you bury me, lock the hut and go to the ends of the world to find happiness for yourself. Let everyone learn something so that they can feed themselves.”

The father died, and the sons, having buried him, went to the ends of the world to seek their happiness and agreed that in three years they would return to the clearing of their native grove, where they went for dead wood, and tell each other who had learned what during these three years.
Three years passed, and, remembering the agreement, the brothers returned from the end of the world to the clearing of their native grove. The first brother came and learned to carpenter. Out of boredom, he cut down a tree and hewed it, making a woman out of it. He walked away a little and waited.
The second brother returned, saw a wooden woman, and since he was a tailor, he decided to dress her and at that very moment, like a skilled craftsman, made her beautiful silk clothes.
The third son came and decorated the wooden girl with gold and precious stones, because he was a jeweler and managed to accumulate enormous wealth.

And the fourth brother came. He could neither carpenter nor sew - he only knew how to listen to what the earth said, what the trees, herbs, animals and birds said, he knew the course of the celestial planets and also knew how to sing wonderful songs. He saw a wooden girl in luxurious clothes, gold and precious stones. But she was deaf and dumb and did not move. Then he collected all his art - after all, he learned to talk with everything that is on earth, he learned to revive stones with his song... And he sang a beautiful song, from which the brothers hiding behind the bushes cried, and with this song he breathed the soul into the wooden woman . And she smiled and sighed...

Then the brothers rushed to her and shouted:
- I created you, you should be my wife!
- You must be my wife, I dressed you, naked and miserable!
- And I made you rich, you should be my wife!

But the girl answered:
- You created me - be my father. You dressed me, and you decorated me - be my brothers. And you, who breathed my soul into me and taught me to enjoy life, you alone will be my husband for life...
And the trees, and the flowers, and the whole earth, together with the birds, sang a hymn of love to them...

Having finished the tale, Leonardo looked at the Mona Lisa. God, what happened to her face! It seemed to be lit up with light, the eyes were shining. A smile of bliss, slowly disappearing from her face, remained in the corners of her mouth and trembled, giving it an amazing, mysterious and slightly sly expression.

It has been a long time since Leonardo da Vinci experienced such a huge surge of creative energy. Everything that was most cheerful, bright and clear in him, he put into his work.
To enhance the impression of the face, Leonardo dressed Mona Lisa in a simple dress, devoid of any decoration, modest and dark. The impression of simplicity and naturalness is enhanced by the skillfully painted folds of the dress and light scarf.

Artists and art lovers who sometimes visited Leonardo saw La Gioconda and were delighted:
- What magical skill does Messer Leonardo possess in depicting this living sparkle, this moisture in the eyes!
- She's definitely breathing!
- She'll laugh now!
- You can almost feel the living skin of this lovely face... It seems that in the deepening of the neck you can see the pulse beating.
- What a strange smile she has. It's like she's thinking about something and not saying anything...

Indeed, in the eyes of “La Gioconda” there is light and a damp shine, as in living eyes, and the finest lilac veins are noticeable in the eyelids. but the great artist did something unprecedented: he also painted the air, permeated with moist vapors and enveloping the figure in a transparent haze.

The most famous, studied and described many times in all languages of the world, “La Gioconda” still remains the most mysterious painting of the great da Vinci. It still remains incomprehensible and continues to disturb the imagination for several centuries, perhaps precisely because it is not a portrait in the usual sense of the word. Leonardo da Vinci wrote it contrary to the very concept of “portrait,” which presupposes an image of a real person, similar to the original and with the attributes that characterize it (at least indirectly).
What the artist painted goes far beyond a simple portrait. Every shade of skin, every fold of clothing, the warm shine of the eyes, the life of arteries and veins - the artist provided his painting with all this. But in front of the viewer in the background there also appears a steep chain of rocks with icy peaks at the foot of the mountains, a surface of water with a wide and winding river flowing from it, which, narrowing under a small bridge, turns into a miniature waterfall, disappearing outside the picture.

The golden warm light of the Italian evening and the magical charm of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings pour on the viewer. Attentively, understanding everything, “La Gioconda” looks at the world and people. More than one century has passed since the artist created it, and with the last touch of Leonardo’s brush it became eternally alive. He himself had long felt that the Mona Lisa lived against his will.

As art critic V. Lipatov writes:
“La Gioconda” was copied many times and always unsuccessfully: she was elusive, did not even appear in a remote resemblance on someone else’s canvas, and remained faithful to her creator.
They tried to tear her apart, take her away and repeat at least her eternal smile, but in the paintings of her students and followers, the smile faded, became false, died, like a creature imprisoned in captivity.”
Indeed, not a single reproduction will convey even a thousandth of the charm that flows from the portrait.

The Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset wrote that in La Gioconda one can feel the desire for internal liberation:
“Look how tense her temples and smoothly shaved eyebrows are, how tightly her lips are compressed, with what hidden effort she is trying to lift the heavy load of melancholy sadness. However, this tension is so imperceptible, her whole figure breathes with such graceful calm and her whole being is filled with such immobility that this internal effort is more likely to be guessed by the viewer than consciously expressed by the master. It wriggles, bites its tail like a snake, and, completing the movement in a circle, finally giving vent to despair, manifests itself in the famous smile of Mona Lisa.”

The unique “La Giaconda” by Leonardo da Vinci was ahead of the development of painting by many centuries. Trying to explain the secret of its witchcraft charm, an endless amount was written about the painting. They made the most incredible assumptions (that “La Gioconda” is pregnant, that she is askew, that it is a man in disguise, that this is a self-portrait of the artist himself), but it is unlikely that it will ever be possible to fully explain why this work, created by Leonardo in his declining years, has such amazing and attractive force. For this canvas is the creation of a truly divine, and not a human hand.
"One Hundred Great Paintings" by N.A. Ionin, Veche Publishing House, 2002