The controversies around her smile and eyes have generated almost as much research and debate as the painting itself. Anyone who has seen Leonardo's Mona Lisa had the illusion that the Gioconda was staring at them irrespective of their angle. There have been numerous scientists who have attempted to deconstruct this particular aspect, and explain how human sight responds to Mona Lisa's eyes. For instance, Margaret Livingstone, a professor at Harvard University, has argued that the painting is most effective when viewed peripherally, and that Gioconda's smile is most striking when looking directly at her eyes.
Contemporary response was not necessarily favorable to the painting as Leonardo's contemporaries did not consider the Mona Lisa Leonardo's most important work. Several accounts of Italian painting written during the artist's life or a little later, fail even to mention it. For instance, Paolo Giovio, writing shortly after Leonardo's death in 1519, simply states that he painted the portrait of Mona Lisa, "wife of Francesco del Giocondo, which was bought by King Francis I, it is said, for 4000 scudi." (Boas 212) In fact, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the only aspect which was truly interesting to critics and art commentators was the price of the painting which was considered immense for that period of time. The only relatively positive recorded comment on the Mona Lisa during the sixteenth century was that of Lomazzo who praised it along with portraits by Raphael and Andrea del Sarto as "peculiarly adapted to its subject." (Ibid) The most influential of earlier comments on the painting belonged to Italian painter Vasari who established a tradition as far as Mona Lisa criticism. It is not until the middle of the seventeenth century that the Mona Lisa is established as a true masterpiece. Pere Dan, who was in charge with making a catalogue of the artworks at Fontainebleau, called it "une merveille de la peinture" -- a miracle of painting (Boas 213).
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Leonardo Da Vinci What are the sources we possess learning about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci and what are their strengths and weaknesses in revealing his personality? Much of what we have learned about Leonardo da Vinci's life and inventions has been uncovered from the hundreds of drawings and writings he left behind. To date, thousands of these handwritten works have been spread across European museums and libraries. It
Leonardo Da Vinci The Comparison Theses of the Authors Each of the articles is similar yet dissimilar. They are similar in that they all discuss Leonardo da Vinci in some respect, but differ in the subjects and theses in their discussion. The two articles that are most similar in the questions asked (or thesis presented) would have to be the article written by Martin Kemp and the article written by Patricia Rubin. Both
With a finite space, the supper room, Leonardo is able to precisely place objects in space using diminishing size and narrowing angle to draw the eye to the distance, although that distance is very close indeed, the rear wall. The three windows are no more than frames for what might well be pictures of the outside world, for all the detail of the exterior landscape they fail to show. Leonardo's
Leonardo Da Vinci Regarded one of the most innovative and talented individuals of his time, BBC (2014) describes Leonardo da Vinci as "one of the greatest creative minds of the Italian Renaissance, hugely influential as an artist and sculptor but also immensely talented as an engineer, scientist and inventor." A clearly multitalented individual, Leonardo da Vinci was born on the 15th day of April, 1452 (BBC, 2014). He was born out
Introduction The Renaissance was a time in which humanism and classical order united in the height of Christendom’s cultural power. The Renaissance would eventually be eclipsed by the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Age of Enlightenment—all of which in some way reduced the achievements of the Renaissance and undermined the accomplishments of the era’s greats. Leonardo da Vinci was one such great of the Renaissance: in fact, it may
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