How cool!!!!!
THE MONA LISA
- By : Cynthia
- Category : Vacations - 2009
Vacations - 2009
2
With only 4 hours to spend at the Louvre after traveling for over 24 hours, I didn’t have high expectations of powering through as much as we could or trying to take it all in. Instead, I was content to just be there observing the enormity of the buildings and seeing the main three things on our list which were the Mona Lisa, the Antiquities, and the Pyramid/garden area.
Not knowing how long it would take or how crowded the areas would be, we made our way to the Mona Lisa first.
On the official website of the Louvre, you’ll find this “Closer Look at the Mona Lisa” which we all watched (or were supposed to watch. Maybe I’m the only one that did our pre-trip homework?) before we left on vacation. It gives a nice overview of not only the Mona Lisa, but also Leonardo da Vinci’s studies.
We were all quite surprised at the HUGE wall dedicated to such a tiny painting, but I suppose it’s warranted given the fact that it IS the most famous painting in the world. I think I read that it didn’t really become as famous as it is now until after it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911. Evidently, it went missing for two years before the thief was caught when trying to sell it to somewhere in Italy. WOW. I can’t imagine how it could have just walked out of the Louvre. It’s not like it was on canvas and could be rolled up and tucked inside a coat or bag or something.
Anyway. Can you see the huge wall in the photo above? There was quite a line to get up close to it, but from what I understand the line was nothing compared to a normal day and we only waited a few minutes to before it was our turn to get up close.
We’ve read quite a bit about Leonardo da Vinci in the past, but we also read a little more about him in preparation for our trip so we could more fully appreciate our viewing of the Mona Lisa. Here are a few things we found of interest:
There is a real person named Mona Lisa who was married to a man named Francesco del Giocondo who was a rich silk merchant from Italy who evidently asked Leonard da Vinci to paint a portrait of his wife around 1503. Therefore, the Mona Lisa painting is known La Gioconda in Italy. Leonardo spent years working on the Mona Lisa thin layer upon thin layer. He evidently loved the painting so much he never gave it to Mr. Giocondo.
I was also surprised to read how few projects he actually completed. In fact, I read he didn’t complete *MOST* of his works. Some think it was due to his perfectionistic tendencies while others say his interests changed so often he would abandon projects in favor of a new one. He evidently finished enough things to become one of the most famous artist to have ever lived.
I had forgotten that Leonardo da Vinci was also a skilled musician, architect, sculptor, engineer, and scientist. WOW!
The next time we study this time period, I think I’ll have the kids study some of Leonardo da Vinci’s works and practice his famous “sfumato” technique.
