What is Mona Lisa. The most incredible and interesting facts about Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco Giocondo (Mona Lisa or Gioconda). 1503-1519 Louvre, Paris

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is the most mysterious picture. Because she is very popular. When there is so much attention, an unimaginable number of secrets and speculations appear.

So I couldn’t resist trying to solve one of these mysteries. No, I won't look for encrypted codes. I will not unravel the mystery of her smile.

I'm worried about something else. Why does the description of the Mona Lisa's portrait by Leonardo's contemporaries not coincide with what we see in the portrait from the Louvre? Is there really a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo, hanging in the Louvre? And if this is not the Mona Lisa, then where is the real Gioconda kept?

The authorship of Leonardo is indisputable

Almost no one doubts that he painted the Louvre Mona Lisa himself. It is in this portrait that the master’s sfumato method (very subtle transitions from light to shadow) is revealed to the maximum. A barely perceptible haze, shading the lines, makes the Mona Lisa almost alive. It seems that her lips are about to part. She will sigh. The chest will rise.

Few could compete with Leonardo in creating such realism. Except that . But in applying the method, sfumato was still inferior to him.

Even compared to earlier portraits of Leonardo himself, the Louvre Mona Lisa is an obvious advance.

Leonardo da Vinci. Left: Portrait of Ginerva Benci. 1476 National Gallery Washington. Middle: Lady with an ermine. 1490 Czartoryski Museum, Krakow. Right: Mona Lisa. 1503-1519 Louvre, Paris

Leonardo's contemporaries described a completely different Mona Lisa

There is no doubt about Leonardo's authorship. But is it correct to call the lady in the Louvre the Mona Lisa? Anyone may have doubts about this. Just read the description of the portrait, a younger contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci. Here's what he wrote in 1550, 30 years after the master's death:

“Leonardo undertook to make a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, for Francesco del Giocondo, and, having worked on it for four years, left it unfinished... the eyes have that shine and that moisture that is usually visible in a living person... The eyebrows could not be more natural: the hair grow densely in one place and less often in another in accordance with the pores of the skin... The mouth is slightly open with the edges connected by the redness of the lips... Mona Lisa was very beautiful... her smile is so pleasant that it seems as if you are contemplating a divine rather than a human being... ”

Notice how many details from Vasari's description do not match the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.

At the time of painting the portrait, Lisa was no more than 25 years old. The Mona Lisa from the Louvre is clearly older. This is a lady who is over 30-35 years old.

Vasari also talks about eyebrows. Which the Mona Lisa doesn't have. However, this can be attributed to poor restoration. There is a version that they were erased due to unsuccessful cleaning of the painting.
Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa (fragment). 1503-1519

Scarlet lips with their mouth slightly open are completely absent from the Louvre portrait.

About the lovely smile divine being You can also argue. It doesn't seem that way to everyone. It is sometimes even compared to the smile of a confident predator. But this is a matter of taste. One can also argue about the beauty of the Mona Lisa mentioned by Vasari.

The main thing is that the Louvre Mona Lisa is completely finished. Vasari claims that the portrait was abandoned unfinished. Now this is a serious inconsistency.

Where is the real Mona Lisa?

So if it’s not the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre, where is it?

I know of at least three portraits that fit Vasari's description much more closely. In addition, they were all created in the same years as the Louvre portrait.

1. Mona Lisa from Prado

This Mona Lisa received little attention until 2012. Until one day restaurateurs cleared the black background. And lo and behold! Under dark paint turned out to be a landscape - exact copy Louvre background.

Pradovskaya Mona Lisa younger than years by 10 of its competitor from the Louvre. What matches real age the real Lisa. She looks nicer. She has eyebrows after all.

However, experts did not claim the title main picture peace. They admitted that the work was done by one of Leonardo's students.

Thanks to this work, we can imagine what the Louvre Mona Lisa looked like 500 years ago. After all, the portrait from the Prado is much better preserved. Due to Leonardo's constant experiments with paints and varnish, the Mona Lisa became very dark. Most likely, she also once wore a red dress, not a golden brown one.

2. Flora from the Hermitage

Flora fits Vasari's description very well. Young, very beautiful, with an unusually pleasant smile of scarlet lips.

In addition, this is exactly how Melzi himself described his teacher Leonardo’s favorite work. In his correspondence he calls her Gioconda. The painting, he said, depicted a girl of incredible beauty with a Columbine flower in her hand.

However, we do not see her “wet” eyes. In addition, it is unlikely that Signor Giocondo would allow his wife to pose with her breasts exposed.

So why does Melzi call her La Gioconda? After all, it is this name that leads some experts to believe that the real Mona Lisa is not in the Louvre, but in.

Perhaps there has been some confusion over the 500 years. From Italian “Gioconda” is translated as “Merry”. Maybe that’s what the students and Leonardo himself called his Flora. But it so happened that this word coincided with the name of the portrait’s customer, Giocondo.

This portrait was revealed to the general public about 100 years ago. An English collector bought it from Italian owners in 1914. They allegedly had no idea what treasure they had.

A version was put forward that this is the same Mona Lisa that Leonardo painted to order for Signor Giocondo. But he didn’t finish it.

It is also assumed that the Mona Lisa that hangs in the Louvre was already painted by Leonardo 10 years later. Already for himself. Taking as a basis the already familiar image of Signora Giocondo. For the sake of my own artistic experiments. So that no one would bother him or demand a painting.

The version looks plausible. In addition, Isleworth's Mona Lisa is unfinished. I wrote about this. Notice how undeveloped the woman's neck and the landscape behind her are. She also looks younger than her Louvre rival. It’s as if they really portrayed the same woman 10-15 years apart.

The version is very interesting. If not for one big BUT. Isleworth's Mona Lisa was painted on canvas. Whereas Leonardo da Vinci wrote only on the board. Including the Louvre Mona Lisa.

Crime of the century. The abduction of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre

Maybe the real Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre. But Vasari described it too inaccurately. And Leonardo has nothing to do with the three paintings above.

However, in the 20th century, one incident occurred that still casts doubt on whether the real Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre.

In August 1911, the Mona Lisa disappeared from the museum. They searched for her for 3 years. Until the criminal revealed himself in the most stupid way. Placed an advertisement in the newspaper for the sale of the painting. A collector came to see the painting and realized that the person who submitted the ad was not crazy. Under his mattress was actually the Mona Lisa collecting dust.
Louvre. Crime scene photo (Mona Lisa disappeared). 1911

The culprit turned out to be Italian Vincenzo Perugia. He was a glazier and artist. Worked for several weeks at the Louvre on glass protective boxes for paintings.

According to his version, patriotic feelings awoke in him. He decided to return to Italy the painting stolen by Napoleon. For some reason he was sure that all the paintings Italian masters The Louvre has been stolen by this dictator.

The story is very suspicious. Why did he not let anyone know about himself for 3 years? It is possible that he or his customer needed time to make a copy of the Mona Lisa. As soon as the copy was ready, the thief made an announcement that would obviously lead to his arrest. By the way, he was sentenced to a ridiculous term. Less than a year later, Perugia was already free.

So it may well be that the Louvre received back a very high-quality fake. By that time, they had already learned how to artificially age paintings and pass them off as originals.

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Mona Lisa is the most famous work V art world, which was created by the famous author- Leonardo da Vinci. This is a legendary work of art, which is shrouded in hundreds of secrets and unsolved mysteries, which captivates the minds of many researchers and ordinary uninitiated viewers.

There has always been an interest in creation, but it became especially acute in last years after the release of the novel “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, as well as films based on this book. And now you will learn about the most incredible and Interesting Facts about Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

Facts about Mona Lisa

• The prefix Mona means “Madonna” or “milady”, and Lisa is just a name.
• The identity of the man in the painting has forever remained a mystery. Some researchers are inclined to think that this is a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci in female image, however, most people consider the Mona Lisa to be the 24-year-old Lisa Geraldina, also known as Lisa del Giocondo, who was the wife of the merchant Francesco del Giocondo. It is also possible that this is a portrait of the artist's mother.
• In 1956, an emergency occurred at the Louvre. Hugo Ungaza threw a stone at the portrait, causing damage to the masterpiece near the left elbow of the Mona Lisa.
• How much do you think this painting is worth? Hundreds of thousands of dollars? Millions? Billions? No! She is priceless! And that is why the masterpiece is still without insurance.
• Interesting facts about Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa must be supplemented by the fact that the woman depicted in the picture has no eyebrows. It is not known for certain why this happened. It is believed that the eyebrows were erased during one of the restorations in the Middle Ages, since then it was fashionable to completely remove eyebrows. There is also an opinion that the picture is deliberately unfinished by the author.

• The painting is located in a special room in the Louvre. This room was created for 7 million dollars specifically for the Mona Lisa. The masterpiece is located under armored glass, and the required temperature is maintained using a computer and complex system sensors
• The Mona Lisa was completed at Amboise Castle in France around 1505. According to one hypothesis, Leonardo da Vinci is buried in this castle.
• Microscopic numbers and letters are drawn into the pupils of the Mona Lisa. They can only be seen with the help of special equipment. This is believed to be the date the painting was completed and the initials of the artist.
• The Mona Lisa is considered one of the most disappointing attractions. There is so much noise and legends, but when you come to the museum, it is hidden under glass, and so far from you... just a painting...
• A special wave of popularity for the Mona Lisa arose after the abduction. On August 21, 1911, the painting was stolen by Vincenzo Perugio, an employee of the Paris museum. During the investigation, the management of the Louvre was fired, and the famous people, such as Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire. The resulting painting was discovered on January 4, 1914 in Italy. After this, several exhibitions were held with her, and then she was returned to Paris. The motives for the crime are not known for certain; it is likely that Perugio wanted to return the masterpiece to Leonardo da Vinci’s homeland.

For decades, historians, art critics, journalists and simply interested people have been arguing about the mysteries of the Mona Lisa. What is the secret of her smile? Who is really depicted in Leonardo's portrait? Over 8 million visitors come to the Louvre every year to admire its creations.

So how did this modestly dressed woman with a light, subtle smile take pride of place on the podium among the legendary creations of other great artists?

Well-deserved glory

Let's first forget that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa - brilliant creation artist. What do we see in front of us? With a barely noticeable smile on her face, a middle-aged, modestly dressed woman looks at us. She's not a beauty, but there's something about her that catches your eye. Fame is an amazing phenomenon. No amount of advertising will help promote a mediocre picture, but La Gioconda business card famous Florentine, known throughout the world.

The quality of the picture is impressive, it has the highest level all the achievements of the Renaissance are brought together. Here the landscape is subtly combined with the portrait, the gaze is directed at the viewer, the famous “counterposto” pose, the pyramidal composition... The technique itself is worthy of admiration: each of the thinnest layers was applied to the other only after the previous one had dried. Using the “sfumato” technique, Leonardo achieved a melting image of objects; with his brush he conveyed the outlines of air, resurrecting the play of light and shadow. This is it main value Da Vinci's creation "Mona Lisa".

Universal recognition

It was the artists who were the first fans of Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda. Painting XVI century is literally filled with traces of the influence of the Mona Lisa. Take, for example, the great Raphael: he seemed to be sick of Leonardo’s painting, the features of Gioconda can be caught in the portrait of a Florentine, in “The Lady with the Unicorn”, and what is most surprising, even in portrait of a man Baldasara Castiglione. Leonardo, without knowing it, created visual material for his followers, who discovered a lot of new things in painting, taking the portrait of the Mona Lisa as a basis.

The artist and art critic was the first to translate the glory of “La Gioconda” into words. In his "Biography" famous painters…” he called the portrait more divine than human, in addition, he gave such an assessment without ever seeing the picture in person. The author only expressed general opinion, thus giving “Gioconda” a high reputation among professionals.

Who posed for the portrait?

The only confirmation of how the creation of the portrait went is the words of Giorgio Vasavi, who claims that the painting depicts the wife of Francesco Giocondo, a Florentine tycoon, the 25-year-old Mona Lisa. He says that while da Vinci was painting the portrait, the girls around them constantly played the lyre and sang, and the court jesters supported good mood, it is precisely because of this that Mona Lisa’s smile is so gentle and pleasant.

But there is plenty of evidence that Giorgio was wrong. Firstly, the girl’s head is covered with a mourning widow’s veil, and Francesco Giocondo lived long life. Secondly, why didn’t Leonardo give the portrait to the customer?

It is known that the artist did not part with the portrait until his death, although he was offered a lot of money for those times. In 1925, art historians suggested that the portrait belongs to his mistress Giuliano Medici- widow Constance d'Avalos. Later, Carlo Pedretti put forward another possibility: it could be Pacifica Bandano, another of Pedretti's mistresses. She was the widow of a Spanish nobleman, was well educated, had a cheerful disposition and graced any company with her presence.

Who is the real Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci? Opinions vary. Perhaps Lisa Gherardini, or perhaps Isabella Gualando, Philibert of Savoy or Pacifica Brandano... Who knows?

From king to king, from kingdom to kingdom

The most serious collectors of the 16th century were the kings; it was their attention that the work needed to win in order to break out of the close circle of respect among artists. The first place where the portrait of the Mona Lisa was seen was the bathhouse of the king. The monarch did not place the painting there out of disrespect or ignorance of what a brilliant creation he received; on the contrary, the most important place in the French kingdom was the bathhouse in Fontainebleau. There the king rested, had fun with his mistresses, and received ambassadors.

After Fontainebleau, the painting “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci visited the walls of the Louvre, Versailles, and the Tuileries; for two centuries it traveled from palace to palace. Gioconda has darkened greatly; due to multiple not entirely successful restorations, her eyebrows and two columns behind her have disappeared. If it were possible to describe in words everything that Mona Lisa saw behind the walls of French palaces, then the works of Alexandre Dumas would seem like dry and boring textbooks.

Have you forgotten about La Gioconda?

In the 18th century, luck turned against the legendary painting. “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci simply did not fit the parameters of the beauties of classicism and frivolous shepherdesses of rococo. She was first transferred to the ministers' rooms, gradually falling lower and lower in the court hierarchy until she found herself in one of the darkest corners of Versailles, where only the cleaners and minor officials could see her. The painting was not included in the collection best paintings French king, presented to the public in 1750.

The situation changed French revolution. The painting, along with others, was confiscated from the king's collection for the first museum in the Louvre. It turned out that, unlike the kings, the artists were not for a minute disappointed in Leonardo’s creation. Fragonard, a member of the Convention commission, was able to adequately evaluate the painting and included it in the list of the most valuable works of the museum. After this, not only kings and everyone could admire the picture. the best museum peace.

Such different interpretations of Mona Lisa's smile

As you know, you can smile in different ways: seductively, sarcastic, sad, embarrassed or happy. But none of these definitions fit. One of the “experts” claims that the person depicted in the painting is pregnant, and is smiling in an attempt to catch the movement of the fetus. Another says that she is smiling at Leonardo, her lover.

One of the famous versions says that La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) is a self-portrait of Leonardo. Recently, using a computer, we compared anatomical features the faces of Gioconda and da Vinci from the artist’s self-portrait drawn. It turned out that they match perfectly. It turns out that Mona Lisa is the female form of a genius, and her smile is the smile of Leonardo himself.

Why does Mona Lisa's smile fade away and then appear again?

When we look at the portrait of Gioconda, it seems to us that her smile is fickle: it fades away, then appears again. Why is this happening? The fact is that there is central vision, which focuses on details, and peripheral vision, which is not so clear. Thus, if you focus your gaze on Mona Lisa’s lips, the smile disappears, but if you look into the eyes or try to take in the whole face, she smiles.

Today Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is in the Louvre. For an almost perfect security system, they had to pay about $7 million. It includes bulletproof glass, latest system alarms and a specially developed program that maintains the necessary microclimate inside. On this moment The cost of insuring the painting is $3 billion.

Several centuries after her death, her portrait, the Mona Lisa, was acquired global recognition and is currently considered one of the greatest works art in history. The painting is of interest to researchers and amateurs and has become the subject of a wide variety of speculation. The final match between Lisa del Giocondo and the Mona Lisa was established in 2005.

Biography

Childhood

Mona Lisa

Like many other Florentines, Francesco was a connoisseur of art and patronized artists. His son, Bartolomeo, commissioned Antonio di Donnino Mazzieri to decorate the fresco family crypt in the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata. Andrea del Sarto, commissioned by another family member, painted Madonna. Francesco ordered ital from Domenico Puligo. Domenico Puligo painting depicting Saint Francis of Assisi.

The generally accepted version is that the portrait of Lisa del Giocondo was painted by Leonardo, and in this case, it could have been commissioned from the artist by her husband, probably to celebrate the birth of his son and the purchase of the house.

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Notes

Comments

Sources

Literature

In English

• Pallanti, Giuseppe. Mona Lisa Revealed: The True Identity of Leonardo's Model. - Florence, Italy: Skira, 2006. - ISBN 88-7624-659-2.
• Sassoon, Donald (2001). "". History Workshop Journal(Oxford University Press) 2001 (51): Abstract. DOI:10.1093/hwj/2001.51.1. ISSN.

Excerpt characterizing Lisa del Giocondo

The Mona Lisa painting has always been an amazing creation of Leonardo da Vinci. Very much interesting stories related to this work. In this article we will tell you several educational facts about the painting Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa painting. Facts that will impress you:

Mona Lisa's eyebrows and eyelashes

In the painting, the Mona Lisa has neither eyelashes nor eyebrows. However, in 2007, a French engineer, using a camera with high resolution found thin brush strokes in the area of ​​the eyebrows and eyelashes that had disappeared over time, probably as a result of careless restoration or simply faded.

There is another "Mona Lisa"

The Prado Museum in Spain houses a second Mona Lisa, which was probably painted by one of da Vinci's students. If you superimpose two Mona Lisa paintings, a 3-D effect appears, which, in fact, makes this painting the first stereoscopic image in history.

Pablo Picasso was suspected...

When the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, Pablo Picasso was questioned as a suspect.

Delicate work..

While painting the image of La Gioconda, Leonardo da Vinci created about 30 layers, many of which thinner than a hair person.

Relaxed atmosphere

While painting the Mona Lisa, the artist made sure that the sitter was in a great mood and that she was not bored. For this purpose, six musicians were invited to play especially for the Mona Lisa, and a musical fountain, invented by da Vinci himself.

Various magnificent works and a Persian cat and a greyhound were present, in case the sitter wanted to play with them.

The painting was not painted on canvas

"Mona Lisa" was painted not on canvas, but on three types wood, about an inch and a half thick.

12 long years...

Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors, played the viola, and spent 12 years painting the Mona Lisa's lips.

Mona Lisa and Napoleon

The Mona Lisa painting hung in Napoleon's bedroom.

An attempt at cubism...

A Swedish designer has created a replica of the Mona Lisa from fifty translucent polygons.

Scam of the century...

As you know, in 1911 the painting “Mona Lisa” was stolen from the Louvre. The kidnapping was led by Argentine fraudster Eduardo de Valfierno, all in order to sell six counterfeits to six various collectors Worldwide. No charges were brought against him, since he was not formally involved in the kidnapping.

I just took it out of the museum...

In 1911, Vincenzo Perugia (an employee of the Louvre and a mirror maker) wished to return the Mona Lisa back to Italy after the painting "was captured by Napoleon." Perugia entered the Louvre, removed the painting from the wall, carried it to the nearest service staircase, took the painting out of the frame, put it under his work coat and left the museum as if nothing had happened.

Insolent...

In 1956, a Bolivian tourist threw a rock at the Mona Lisa and damaged the painting.

What is the price of the Mona Lisa?

The cost of the Mona Lisa painting is estimated at approximately $782 million.

Mona Lisa from toast..

In 1983, Tadahiko Ogawa created a copy of the Mona Lisa consisting entirely of t O stov.

Save from the Nazis

During World War II, the Mona Lisa was moved from the Louvre twice. And all in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis.

Mona Lisa with mustache

“Mona Lisa with a Mustache” is a work owned by surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp. He called the painting “L.H.O.O.Q.” , which means “I have a hot ass” in French.

Painting of Mona Lisa with mustache

You can love forever...

In 1963, the Mona Lisa was exhibited for a month in National Gallery art. The painting was under 24-hour guard by American Marines and, despite the fact that the gallery's visiting hours were extended, people often stood in line for about two hours just to catch a glimpse of the painting.

The tiniest copy of the Mona Lisa

The most microscopic copy of the Mona Lisa is only 30 microns in size.

Self-portrait

There is a version that the portrait of the Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait of da Vinci in women's clothing.