Historical Artwork

         When it comes to Historical Art, I think of Renaissance. Most particularly Leonardo Da Vinci's well known painting of Mona Lisa, which is what I am going to be discussing about today. First, a little about the artist. Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy and died on May 2, 1519. He was and still is known to be the most famous artist. While he is mainly known for that ,Da Vinci is considered a "Polymath" because he was also a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. Whew! No wonder he is known as the "Renaissance Man."
        Ok, so Mona Lisa. Based on my research, it is said that Da Vinci used "pyramid design," "to place the women simply and calmly in the painting." In this painting, the one element of art that stands out the most to me is Line. Just take a look a the picture below, I admire the way the outlines of her palms fit finely on to the other as she rests them on top of each other. Also, there has been a great deal of debate on whether Mona Lisa is smiling or that's just her common face. I believe that she is smiling because if you take a look at the picture again, I see that the corner of her lips curve to the point that if you look at her eyes, you will see that the lines at the end of them curve upwards. This only means that she appears to be a happy camper, in my opinion! The painting is certainly created to define in every aspect because Da Vinci has used several tints and shades to bring about the different yet almost the same hues used repeatedly. For example, Mona Lisa is wearing shades of maroon, bottle cap green, and golden ivory. Then, these same oil paints are incorporated into the painting but at a much lighter hue for the background, and middle ground.
           Which brings us to space. Da vinci has used simple yet again but in a clever way of showing the background, middle ground, and foreground. I say Mona Lisa is in the foreground because she appears much clearer and you can see the depth in her from her tired looking eyes to the almost invisible arm rest of the chair. You might have to squint to take a peek at the background and make out what it is but the middle ground is much clearer because it is closer. Definitely Da Vinci has used variety of sizes and color if not more to show emphasis such as the line on Mona Lisa's head, which was also argued intensely about because many thought women wore that when they were pregnant. Contrast in the painting is evident when you look at her hair and clothes against the background and middle ground with are lighter in color and so they distinct her very much in the painting. Even though there is never a unity of this painting by Da vinci because it has become so much arguable and controversial throughout the years, I believe that Da Vinci has created a feeling of completeness with his distinctive details and colors.