Category: Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’ are two of the most iconic paintings in history, both painted during the Renaissance. It was originally such a portrait, but over time, its meaning has evolved, becoming a symbol of the Renaissance and becoming the most famous painting in the world. ‘Mona Lisa’ is probably a portrait of the wife of a Florentine businessman, her eyes are on her husband. It is a portrait of the wife of the wealthy Florentine citizen Francesco del Gioconda, created in 1504 by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the great artists of the Italian Renaissance.

Mona Lisa is a bust portrait of the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is considered a typical masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance and is described as ‘the most famous, visited, written, sung and imitated work of art in the world’. This painting may be the work of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo and Italian nobleman, painted on a white Lombard poplar panel. The artwork was never given to the Giocondo family, and it was later assumed that it was left in the will of Leonardo’s favorite student, Salé.

The title of this painting, called Mona Lisa in English, comes from the description of the Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari, who wrote: ‘Leonardo promised to be Francesco Delgio Condo and painted a portrait of his wife Mona Lisa.’ Mona in Italian is a polite form of address that originated from ma donna, similar to Madam or my Lady in English. Although the title of this painting is traditionally written Mona, it is also commonly written Monna Lisa in modern Italian, but this is rare in English. Vasari’s description of the Mona Lisa is from his biography of Leonardo da Vinci, which was published 31 years after the artist’s death in 1550. When Leonardo’s assistant Salaì died in 1524, he had a portrait. In his personal file, the painting was titled La Gioconda, a painting bequeathed to him by Leonardo .

In 2005, a scholar at Heidelberg University found a side note in the 1477 print of a book by the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero, confirming that Leonardo painted such a work and its date. This note is dated October 1503 and was written by Leonardo’s contemporary Agostino Vespucci (Agostino Vespucci). This note compares Leonardo with the famous Greek painter Apeles mentioned in the article, and points out that Leonardo was working on a painting by Lisa del Giocondo at the time . In response to the discovery of the document, Vincent De Livin, the representative of the Louvre, said: ‘Leonardo da Vinci painted a Florentine lady named Lisa del Giocondo in 1503. Portrait.’

Some people believe that Lisa del Giocondo is the subject of another portrait. At least four other paintings are the Mona Lisa mentioned by Vasari. 21st century art historians agree that this painting represents Lisa del Giocondo’s traditional long-term vision.

Among Leonardo da Vinci’s works, ‘Mona Lisa’ is the only one whose authenticity has never been affected. The seriously questioned portrait is also one of the four works; the others are ‘Saint Jerome in Nature’, ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ and ‘The Last Supper’. his signature avoids controversies. In October 1503, he began to create a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, model of the ‘Mona Lisa’. Some people believe that the Mona Lisa began in Florence in 1503 or 1504. Other scholars believe that according to historical documents, Leonardo had painted this work as early as 1513.

Bambach concluded that Leonardo may continue to perfect the work before 1516 or 1517. Leonardo’s right hand was paralyzed around 1517, which may indicate something unfinished by the Mona Lisa.

In about 1505, Raphael drew a pencil and ink sketch in which the pillars on either side of the main body are more visible. Experts generally believe that it is based on the portrait of Leonardo. Earlier reproductions of the Mona Lisa, such as those in the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design and the Walters Art Museum, include large flanking columns. As a result, the Mona Lisa was thought to be cut out.

Some experts believe that Da Vinci made two versions. The first hypothetical portrait, showing the prominent pillar, was commissioned by Giocondo around 1503 and remained unfinished in the hands of Leonardo Salé’s student and assistant until his death in 1524. The second painting was bought in 1513 by Giuliano de Medici, sold to Francis I in 1518 by Sale, and currently hangs in the Louvre. Others believe that there is only one real Mona Lisa, but they disagree with the two destinations mentioned above. In 1797, it was on permanent display at the Louvre.

The empty wall of the Salon Carré in the Louvre after the theft of the painting in 1911.

The artwork was stolen from the Louvre on August 21, 1911. After being confused as to whether the painting was filmed anywhere, the Louvre was closed for a week to investigate. The real culprit was the Louvre employee Vincenzo Perugia, who helped build the display case for this painting. He entered the building during normal business hours for robbery, hid in the broom closet, and the painting hidden under his coat after the museum was closed.

Perugia was an Italian patriot. He believed that Leonardo’s paintings should be returned to the Italian Museum. Perugia’s motivation may have been that a colleague would significantly increase the value of the original after the painting was stolen. After putting the ‘Mona Lisa’ in his apartment for two years, Perugia became impatient and felt that when he tried to sell it to the director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Giovanni Poggi Very surprised. It was on display for more than two weeks at the Uffizi Gallery before being returned to the Louvre on January 4, 1914.

Popular culture often opens the window into the cultural norms of our society, its perceptions, and discourses. It portrays how the social mores of the society shape family, social life, and gender roles. It also acts as a medium of dissemination to teach about one’s self-identity.

Popular culture therefore, shapes the way an individual or group thinks, often observed in popular cultural movements like the Beat, the Hip Hop, the Dadaists, and many more.

Films, in line with other popular cultural media, have helped in presenting various socio-cultural aspects of life. There are many movies dealing with girl power and 1960s post-feminist “second wave feminism” (Tally, 2008, p. 107). Many films have tried to explore the realms of gender roles and the breaking of the prevalent societal discourse regarding the role of women.

One such movie, reviewed and discussed in this paper, is Mona Lisa Smile (2003). This movie is a more explicit confrontation with portrayal of young women struggling against their traditional roles that opens up a cultural space between the second wave feminists and the post feminist daughters who only wanted to be homemakers (Frieden, 1997; Tally, 2008). This paper explores the themes, symbols, and cultural space portrayed by the film Mona Lisa Smile.

Mona Lisa Smile is a film about Katherine Watson (played by Julia Roberts) a graduate from UCLA accepts a job offer as an art teacher from Wellesley College in the 1950s. Watson brings in liberal feminist ideas into the college and among girls in class, especially Betty Warren (Khristen Dunst), Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), and Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal). The plot of the movie spins around these characters and the way Watson eventually helps them see the meaning of her liberalist ideals and find their own identity.

In her very first class, Watson encounters a class-full of bright young women who are intelligent but their intelligence is marred by their conventional and traditional discourse and knowledge. A free-spirited Watson who “wanted to make a difference,” tried to change the way women looked at traditional gender roles and their career options in a conservative school like Wellesley.

The movie shows that the idea of schooling at the time was to make the women adept with domestic ideologies. Therefore, young women were taught to be educated in the right way, think in the right was in order to achieve their role in the marriage market.

Watson is described as a woman “lived by her own definition and would not compromise that” (Newell, 2003) initially faces a lot of challenge from a group of conservative management body as well as student named Betty who was brought up to believe that all women would want is to get married and be a homemaker. However, inside was a boiling spirit that wanted to reject the prevalent norms and teachings about gender role.

The movie wanted to show the way women believed in their lives in the 1950s through a series of video footage available in the movie’s DVD showing women in the fifties, statistics comparing women taking full time employment after graduation of then and the present time and how many claimed they were virgins. The gender roles have changed since then, but for what, that was due to the first of wave of feminists in the fifties in the US who believed that these social barriers of women being only homemakers had to be broken down.

The movie depicts an era that was before the sexual revolution and what women faced in the era. Watson plays against the conventional norms of womanhood in the 1950s, as she was still unmarried in her 30s. This is not acceptable and almost a taboo for many of the students in her class but she remains herself and tries to shatter the glass ceiling.

Through her lectures on art history, Watson tries to help the students break the barrier of methodical and text oriented understanding. She believes that the young women in Wellesley were smart, confident, and were capable of doing much more than just be homemakers.

She defines the new more out of the box thinking for the girls in her class through the new way of teaching the art course that she outlines the course as “What is art? What makes it is good or bad? And who decides?” the ethos of the day was teaching through textbooks and a good student was expected to know the textbook thoroughly.

In a way this was intended to help young women become exemplary mothers who could spell out the course while educating their children or appear educated and cultured as their designated role of being wives to the elite male club.

Watson comes from the Bohemian west culture and wants to “make a difference”. However, the conservative alumni body of the college holds down her aspirations to bring change. They try to restrict Watson’s potential as a teacher and a feminist liberal by defining the course outline when she is invited to join back the following year.

The conservative society tried to subdue the force of change embodied in Watson, but Watson decides to leave in search of new walls to break. Nevertheless, she leaves the imprint of her ideas and believes in the lives of the three other main characters, her students, as they learn to see beyond their discoursed and traditional roles, they see themselves.

Mona Lisa Smile is a tale of the way women’s lives were shaped in 1950s in America, their limited existence within the barricaded walls of “home” and “marriage”. The movie examines how male hegemonic discourse shaped young women’s attitudes and their choices and expectations after graduation from college.

This is shown through Joan and Betty and how they tackle their personal problem in eventually finding themselves. The movie above all demonstrates how popular culture helps to depict reality and brings out the social, structural changes that changed the women’s world in the 1950s. It raises the question of women’s place and even though the setting is sixty years back, it holds relevance for present time as the question of women’s space is still relevant.

References

Frieden, B. (1997). Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd.

Newell, M. (Director). (2003). Mona Lisa Smile [Motion Picture].

Tally, M. (2008). Representation of Girls and Young Women in Films as Entry Point to Studying Girl Culture. In C. Mitchell, & J. Reid-Walsh, Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers’ guide (pp. 107-115). New York: ABC-CLIO.

Introduction

The style and medium used in art make a composition unique. Elements used in works of art dictate the level of skill and quality of the final product. This essay describes and contrasts two exceptional artworks [The Mona Lisa Painting (Da Vinci) and the Lavender Mist (Pollock)] of different genres in terms of their history, medium, technique, and elements of design.

The Mona Lisa Painting

The Mona Lisa painting is a masterpiece in representational work of art. The painting dates back to the 1500s in Florence, Italy (Strickland and Boswell, 32). The painting is unique because of the diverse technologies used in its creation.

Element of Design

For an inexperienced art enthusiast, the Mona Lisa composition is straightforward and standard, but this is not the case. L. Da Vinci used an element of composition called pyramidal, which makes this painting unique. The pyramidal element of the Mona Lisa painting, shows the theme of the painting (Mona Lisa), with a wider bottom by her hands as well as her arms outlining the front curvature. All these elements of the painting are in place to illustrate the eyes, high Mona Lisa’s body and her recognizable grin.

The Mona Lisa pose, is an element of design that sets this painting apart from other oil paintings of the 1500 era and even today (Visual-arts-cork.com). Mona Lisa appears relaxed in this painting. This element of design is hard to attain in a painting, even today. Mona Lisa is seen in this painting to be at ease, as she bends forward on the armrest of the chair. To attain this in a composition, an artist requires being exceptionally skillful. Another element of design in this masterpiece that makes it unique is the positioning of the eyes. The subject’s eyes are at the same eye level with the viewer.

The background of the Mona Lisa painting brings out an element of design that is unique to a 1500s painting. Both the theme and backdrop in the Mona Lisa are in sharp focus with a mixture of details. The Mona Lisa painting backdrop appears faded, or indistinct as well as out of focus, the further it extends from Mona Lisa. The backdrop colors in the Mona Lisa are mild, soft and faint, to some extent thus leaving the subject as the point of focus. Other elements of design used in the painting include lighting to pull the eye of the observer, and shadowing to add intensity as well as a dimension to specific aspects of the image of Mona Lisa.

Medium of the Painting

The Mona Lisa painting stands out from other paintings of the 1500 era because of the technique, and the medium used to create the masterpiece. Da Vinci pioneered the use of oil as a medium in art, through the Mona Lisa composition. The 1500s artists worked extremely hard to create art pieces, but they experienced a ruthless challenge, which was their paint. In the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci used a unique painting technique that entailed mixing two different media, a pigment to produce color and a binder to hold the pigment on the surface being painted (Buser, 193).

Glazing

Glazing is the technique used by Da Vinci to create the smoky effect, observable around the eyes and mouth of Mona Lisa (Leslie, 183). This technique entails applying several coatings of very thin glaze. The blurring and shadowing effect in the Mona Lisa was achieved through the glazing technique (Buser, 194). Scientists suggest that the artist L. Da Vinci, managed to create the smoky effect of the Mona Lisa composition by glazing with his fingers.

History

This composition by Jackson Pollock differs from the Mona Lisa radically, in terms of the element of the design, medium, and technique. The Lavender Mist is a 1950 painting, while the Mona Lisa is a renaissance period painting. The Lavender Mist is made from enamel and oil (National Gallery of Art). Contrasted to the Mona Lisa, the Lavender Mist is an abstract art form, while the Mona Lisa is a representational form of art. The making of the Mona Lisa entailed meticulous application of paint, while the Lavender Mist was created by pouring paint on unprimed canvas (National Gallery of Art).

Technique

The technique used by Pollock in this composition is innovative as the technique used by Da Vinci. The two techniques also differed because Da Vinci glazed the Mona Lisa painting with his fingers, while Pollock circled covering the print, flinging, drenching, as well as splattering skeins of paint on the surface of the canvas, coat upon coat, until a thick web of tint was produced. The other difference between the Mona Lisa and the Lavender Mist is that, the technique in the latter is spontaneous despite being remarkably almost perfect, while the earlier composition technique is meticulous. The Lavender Mist technique is known as “drip” painting, while the Mona Lisa’s is known as glazing (National Gallery of Art).

Element of the Design

The element of the design in the Lavender Mist is in the recurring movements of the extended arcs, faltering, coagulated collections of paint that accumulated into an abounding, gleaming interlace (National Gallery of Art). Pollock managed to attain a mild tonal effect with just a few shades of color. On the other hand, Da Vinci managed to attain the smoky effect in the Mona Lisa with over forty glazes. The other evident element of design in the Lavender Mist, is the natural linear structure that is exhibited all over the composition without noticeable focal points.

Objective Analysis

Both the Mona Lisa and the Lavender Mist works of art are adept. The Lavender Mist is skillful because, despite being an abstract art that was created using a spontaneous technique of dipping, it shows detailed element of the design such as a natural linear structure that standard abstract art rarely achieves. The Mona Lisa painting is skillful because, the artist managed to highlight the backdrop of the painting, and at the same time focus the subject of the composition. Moreover, the Mona Lisa work of art was created with no tools such as a brush, and it appears symmetrical. Symmetry is difficult to achieve in a hand-drawn composition.

The Composition Appeal

The Mona Lisa is appealing because it evokes intimacy. In addition, the subject has an inviting demeanor. The Lavender Mist is not appealing because it appears obscure, and requires a background in artwork to understand.

Works Cited

Buser, Thomas. Experiencing art around us. Australia; United States: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. Print.

Italian-Renaissance-Art.com. The Mona Lisa. 2012. Web.

Leslie, Davis, Margaret. Mona Lisa in Camelot How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci’s Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation. Philadelphia PA: Da Capo Press, 2009. Print.

National Gallery of Art. Jackson Pollock; Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), 1950.2012. Web.

Strickland, Carol and John Boswell. The annotated Mona Lisa: a crash course in art history from prehistoric to post-modern. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1992. Print.

Visual-arts-cork.com. Oil Painting.Web.

Leonardo DaVinci’s masterpiece, The Mona Lisa, is the most notable and cited painting in history. Many parodies of this work of art portray conceptual ideas (Marsili et al., 2019). One example of the creative parodical pictures is Corregio’s (2016) image that illustrates a young woman in the present-day clothes taking a photo of herself. The choice fell on this art because most youth can rely on depicted Lisa’s portrayal. The picture attracts attention with the model’s amusing posture and the outfit that is far distinctive from the original work one. It illustrates the modern trend on selfies, the self-made photos of the person holding the camera, among young ladies, and the importance of social media like Instagram in the lives of the people who live in the contemporary world. The author is trying to show how women nowadays are dependent on public opinion. In addition, most teenage girls have similar pictures with identical stances and impressions, making it hard to differentiate one girl from another. The image possibly links to the problem that there is a lack of individuality due to globalization. The drawing of Mona Lisa is the most well-known piece of art left from the Italian Renaissance. It is her face that first comes to people’s minds when they imagine the woman of that period. That is why her image often serves as a representative of the average woman of her period. Therefore, rather than the original drawing’s mockery, parodies of The Mona Lisa are a ridicule of the modern social trend. Illustrators attempt to demonstrate the common social problems of the 21st century by altering the most familiar artwork to people.

References

Corregio. (2016). Mona Lisa (Sousa, B., art.) [Image]. Imgur. Web.

Marsili, L., Ricciardi, L., & Bologna, M. (2019). Unraveling the asymmetry of Mona Lisa smile. Cortex, 120, 607–610. Web.

This paper will provide a rhetoric analysis of the Mona Lisa painting, because it has rendered its audience into a redundant situation where the individual who admires this painting always ends up in his or her own interpretation or assumption of the different meanings of the image.

This is a painting that has received mixed responses from scholars, art lovers, and unfussy viewers of the painting. This has led the painting to being involved into a process that has attracted, what can be termed as a celebration from “pregnancy” to “morning.”

As the painting has been subject to wear and tear just like other paintings, it has endured over times and emerge as one of the most remarkable paintings, and which is characterized as a unique painting that has the most fascinating features.

Mona Lisa painting may sometimes be described as a definitive art; this is because it has nearly all qualities and properties of the art-painting (Barolsky 62). For this reason, the Mona Lisa art happens to be viewed as one of the well-regarded paintings in the world.

The proportions of the face and body are indeed perfect. The painting represents a feeling of completeness, as it incorporates all elements of art that is well engineered (64). The use of colors in the portrait of Mona Lisa brings out the art to full perfection revealing Da Vinci’s artistic skills.

The analysis of Mona Lisa revolves around a portrait of a woman who has a mysterious facial expression. Many art critiques believe that the smile of a woman is hiding some secrets. Her hands are seen to be folded across her bosom; her breast, face, and neck are well illuminated with the same light models.

The availability of light gives different shades in the foreground, middle, and background surfaces. Da Vinci used the sfumato technique in this painting; he created shadowy areas upon which the shapes blend over each other.

Interpretation of the meaning of this piece of art created by Da Vinci reveals a detailed piece of work, imagination, a gift in painting, and high in accuracy (Barolsky, 63). One may well believe that Da Vinci could has been motivated by a personal curiosity to paint a perfect woman who represented the epoch in which he lived.

A notable woman has numerous secrets but never reveals them. The smile on the woman’s face reveals that she is holding some secrets that are a misery to reveal. Mona Lisa painting can be judged as one of the most famous and viewed pieces of art.

The painting portrays a calm woman who is seating peacefully in front of the painter. The art clearly shows a distance between the portrait and the observer (66). This is brought out by the armrest of the chair that serves as division between the observer and Mona Lisa.

Looking at Mona Lisa painting from different positions, her facial expressions seem to change; it is so astounding that Da Vinci captured several emotional and character qualities in a single painting. It is the main reason why different meanings are provided by different people who look at Mona Lisa painting.

This piece of art appeals to the viewer on many levels describing the subject of the theme in a much simple, familiar, and pleasant manner.

The reality about Mona Lisa painting is that it has proven fact that whenever individuals set up their mind in discovering its secrets, they certainly disclose whatever they would want to find in the image. The painting offers its viewers a prospect of viewing the differences arising from viewing the work as an art, or in a reality perspective (Barolsky, 64).

Careful analysis of the paintings of the Mona Lisa reveals a woman sitting in an imaginary landscape that has factored in the aerial perspective. Behind the woman in the painting, there are mountains, paths and bridge that gives an impression of human presence. The rivers and valleys seen on the background of the Mona Lisa painting are entirely echoed by the hair and the worn clothing.

This enables the portrait to draw a natural and affectionate appeal to individuals who come across it. To a large extent, the portrait reveals an idealistic rather than realistic woman (66). The harmony achieved in this painting is in the form of a smile that links the nature and humanity.

If one looks closer at the Mona Lisa painting, he/she will notice that she lacks the eyelashes and the eyebrows. This may have been left intentionally by the painter or may have happened as a result of the painter forgetting to put the final touches on the painting. However, careful analysis of the painting on the left eyebrows region, one notices a masterful use of brush strokes.

To attain this deceptive mile, Da Vinci used different blends of shades in order to blur the outlines (Barolsky 62). It is the masterful use of shades that have fascinated many artists in the world. Today, many artists use this idea to deliver the messages that they want their viewers to get.

The painting depicts a woman gazing at viewers at different angles, no matter whether these viewers are relative to the painting or not. From the historical point of view, it is believed that Da Vinci took four years to come up with the full painting of Mona Lisa.

The facial expression shows how Da Vinci has mastered the use of tones and colors in the painting. Some artists argue that this painting portrays the painter in one’s feminism form, or maybe it is the picture of his secret admirer (Barolsky 65). However, it is a mythological point of view, and it is the reason why many artists interpret the Mona Lisa’s smile in different ways.

On the other hand, Mona Lisa may be seen as being portrayed by Da Vinci as a saint and, to some extent, a higher being (Barolsky 62). Cross examination of Mona Liza painting portrays a young woman, but somewhat insecure.

The painting is also representational because the painting represents human traits, which can have bad and good aspects. Since bad and good representations are well illuminated in human nature, the painting may be attractive to a wide range of the target audience, which may vary from the art lovers, historians, and any scholar who is interested in conducting research to reveal some of the painting’s hidden aspects.

The art is engaging, as one tries to get the inner meaning of this art, he or she becomes rejuvenated by its strong realism and rhetoric nature, which probably makes people desire to discover more inner implication.

To wrap this analysis of Mona Lisa work by Da Vinci depicts a range of characteristics. From what one sees from the art, it is clear that the author used art to depict several meanings in the paintings that are evident.

The painter has instituted a spirited reality into the image, which has been fabricated to being an image that can, by no means, be replaced by any other painting. Mona Lisa painting can be denoted as one of the utmost art of all times, this is because it one of the arts that has risen most curiosity among the artist.

Works Cited

Barolsky, Paul. Why Mona Lisa Smiles and Other Tales by Vasari. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 1987.

Introduction

Mental emancipation is one of the roles played by education. However, many people do not emancipate themselves because of preconceived ideas, beliefs, and values acquired from their parents.

Katherine’s efforts to emancipate girls from mental conditioning fail when Betty asks her to obey a decision of becoming a mother, and a wife after graduation. Katherine does not give up and continues to urge the girls to pursue careers instead of merely getting married and becoming wives.

Movie information

Mona Lisa Smile is a drama film released in 2003. Revolution Studios and Columbia Studios produced it with help from Red Om Films Productions. Mike Newell directed the movie, which stars Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kirsten Dunst.

It was written by Lawrence Konner and ran for 117 minutes. The title connotes the subject of an ancient painting by Leonardo da Vinci known as Mona Lisa.

The movie explores various contributions by social structures in shaping women’s lives in olden days by putting limits on their potential.

It also examines how girls replicate superficial attitudes in a society mainly controlled and subjugated by men. Also, it explores the expectations of girls concerning their lives after graduating from college.

Character and plot summary

The main character (Katherine) is very enthusiastic when she gets a job at Wellesley College. The private arts college admits women only, as well as promoting conservative ideals. She takes the job and starts teaching with great passion.

She sadly discovers that even though her students have memorized the whole syllabus, they cannot use their brains to make individual decisions. As a result, she spends ample time introducing them to modern art.

She disagrees with the College President for encouraging class discussions and failing to adhere to the syllabus in class. The President warns Katherine and orders her to follow the syllabus failure to which she would lose her job.

After getting used to her students, and realizing that their main agenda was to graduate and get married, she seeks to inspire them to do and achieve more with their lives. One of the students, Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles) had dreams of becoming a lawyer.

To inspire her, Katherine encourages Joan Brandwyn to apply for enrollment at Yale School of Law. Fortunately, she is offered an opportunity, but instead of joining, she elopes with her fiancé Tommy.

She derives much happiness from her relationship with Tommy and decides to become a wife after graduation. This realization prompts her to tell Katherine to stop talking to her about careers because she has already decided to become a wife.

Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) is a traditionalist who does not concur with Katherine’s ideas. She does not comprehend why Katherine is still single. She is responsible for the exit of Amanda Armstrong (Juliet Stevenson), the resident nurse.

Betty exposed Amanda for giving contraceptives to students in one of the two editorials that she wrote for the school magazine. In the other editorial, she attacks Katherine for telling the girls to pursue education to higher levels rather than becoming wives and mothers.

Betty is a victim of an arranged marriage because her parents have chosen Spencer (Jordan Bridges) to marry her. She expects exemption from attending classes, but Katherine insists that she will not be lenient in giving her a poor grade if she performs poorly.

Connie Baker (Ginnifer Goodwin) is in a tumultuous relationship. She is dating Betty’s cousin whose parents have chosen Deb to be his wife. Connie learns about the arrangement from Betty. Connie ends the relationship because she sees no future with Charlie.

However, they later reunite because Charlie does not intend to marry Deb because he does not love her as much as he loves Connie.

Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) thinks differently from the other girls. She concurs with Katherine’s views and ideas because she considers her as someone who has followed her desires and dreams.

Also, she agrees with her because she does not like the fact that she is among the Jewish minority in the school. Her liberal views are expressed in her relationship with a married professor.

Katherine opens up to the girls and explains how war separated her from her fiancé. Since then, she has been in several relationships. She turns down a proposal from her boyfriend and instead starts a relationship with Bill who is a professor at the college.

Katherine makes the professor promise that he will stop having affairs with students. Their relationship does not last for long because Katherine does not trust him.

On the other hand, the marriage between Betty and Spencer fails because Spencer concentrates on doing business rather than taking care of Betty. Moreover, Giselle tells Betty about Spencer’s extramarital affairs, which hungers her.

Betty’s mother tries to persuade her to remain married to Spencer to avoid being labeled scandalous. In response, Betty asks her if Mona Lisa’s smile is an expression of happiness. She goes on and divorces Spencer. Her mother learns of her divorce during graduation.

Betty also informs her mother that she was considering joining law school. The school management imposes strict rules o Katherine.

She is expected to strictly follow the syllabus that is approved by the college, prepare and present lesson plans for authorization, and desist from talking to the girls about anything else other than what is in the syllabus. Being a liberal woman, Katherine rejects the new rules.

A key idea

The idea behind the movie is excellent. The efforts put forward by Katherine to emancipate the girls from narrow mindedness are commendable.

During her first day in class, she realizes that the girls were knowledgeable because of memorizing the syllabus but were unable to think constructively and critically. As a result, she decides to adopt a different teaching style to emancipate them from limited mindsets.

This scenario is common in today’s society where parents decide what their children become. Even though the students and administration reject her style and try hard to squash her determination, she does not give up. She continues to advocate for what is right based on her beliefs.

Evaluation and Critique of the movie

The movie is great, and I would recommend it to any movie enthusiast or curious learner. First, I like the movie because of its theme. Many children are victims of parental control and do not follow their dreams, but those of their parents.

Secondly, the depiction of different characters is in line with their thinking. They act according to their upbringing and stick to their ideals despite pressure from Katherine to change their views. However, the movie has several weaknesses.

The storyline is predictive, and the characters are very elusive. Despite the weaknesses, the characters display quality performances, and I think the movie is worth watching.

The artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti are famous for their great artistic pieces of work during the renaissance period. This paper will focus on analyzing the different styles of painting in the paintings Mona Lisa and The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The portrait of Mona Lisa which is also referred to as “La Gioconda,” “wife of Francesco Del Giocondo,” or “Portrait of Lisa Gherardini” was done by an Italian artist by the name Leonardo da Vinci (Da Vinci, 2008). The painting was done on a poplar panel using oil paint in the years 1503 to 1519. The Mona Lisa painting is the most celebrated and famous work of all time. Leonardo da Vinci demonstrates mastery in art as evidenced by the portrait’s subtle detail especially the distinctive gaze of the woman accompanied by a faint smile.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in Florence, Italy to a peasant father Piero da Vinci and mother Catarina. He was educated in an arts studio owned by Verrocchio, a Florentine painter. He is said to have been commissioned by Francesco Del Giocondo to paint the portrait of his wife and this is how the Mona Lisa painting came about. The painting is a portrait of a woman sitting upright with the arms folded showing that her posture was a reserved one (Kemp, 2006).

Her gaze seems to be fixed on the observer demonstrating Leonardo’s Gombrich and Sfumato styles of painting. Sfumato, Chiaroscuro, and Gombrich are techniques where colors are softened and dark glazes are used to do the edges; it is the use of the smoky colors and somber mood to do a painting (Da Vinci, 2008). The painting style fits the time period of renaissance in Italy when painting was done by concentrating on light and shade.

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti

The painting the creation of Adam was done as a section of the Sistine chapel ceiling by Michelangelo in the year 1511. The painting is said to illustrate the “Biblical story of creation where God breathes life to Adam as the first man.” Chronologically, this painting was the fourth to be done in a series which depicted the episodes of creation from the book of genesis done on the Sistine chapel.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Caprese, Tuscany Italy in the year 1475 and grew up as a sculptor, painter, and architect. He is famously known for having frescoed the portraits including the Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

The creation of Adam portrait was commissioned to be done by the Pope and it focuses on the two main characters which are Adam and God. God is demonstrated as bearded man in a loose robe trying to reach out to a naked man on the left corner, probably Adam.

The image shows an outstretched right arm of God with a finger pointing to Adam and Adam’s left arm outstretched to mirror God. Both God’s and Adam’s fingers are not touching giving the impression that, “God is the giver of life and Adam is reaching out to receive it” (Meshberger, 1990).

Michelangelo used the style of figurative and mannerist painting to complete the fresco and depict the divine dynamism. This painting was done using oil and tempera to bring out the mannerist and figurative styles of painting; oil was applied in successive tones by using intense color and then light one (Salcman, 2006).

Color effect demonstrated by this tempera painting demonstrates Michelangelo’s Cangianti unique style of painting. The painting was done during the Italian renaissance thus fits well for the time period it was created.

The last supper by Leonardo da Vinci

This painting is of a mural nature and it was done in the 15^th century by Leonardo for Duke Sforza and Beatrice d’Este. The painting represents “the scene of The Last Supper” when Jesus was ending his mission as told in the Biblical book of Luke (Kemp, 2006). The painting is large such that it covers a whole wall of Santa Maria delle grazie dining hall situated in Milan, Italy.

The painting is done on a wall that is dry instead of a wet plaster thus its not fresco. The painting was done using the mural style and not fresco to allow Leonardo the freedom of experimenting. He used the tempera technique by mixing vinegar and egg yolks and oil paint as well. To seal this layer of tempera, Leonardo sealed the wall using pitch as well. The painting was done between 1495 and 1498 thus fits well to the rebirth period of time (Kemp, 2006).

The three paintings, Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and The Creation of Adam were painted during the period of rebirth or renaissance. In these paintings both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo used “realistic painting techniques accompanied by classical compositions” (Leslie, 2007).

These pieces of art mark the shift from classical themes to antiquity themes which infuse realism (Da Vinci, 2008). The renaissance period demonstrated a technical achievement in that the artists used oil paints that allowed mixing of colors due to their extended time of drying such that they could add some elements to their compositions.

These three paintings have different art elements including line, shape, and color, and value, principles of design such as contrast, pattern, and balance. In the Mona Lisa painting, Leonardo employs the Sfumato and Gombrich styles of painting which gives the painting the smoky effect (Leslie, 2007).

This effect means that the painting does not have borders or lines just like smoke. The painting is a portrait of a woman with a faint smile and a fixed gaze. This is a beautiful painting which combines excellent painting techniques.

In the painting “The Creation of Adam,” Michelangelo uses the mannerism and figurative style of painting to demonstrate divine dynamism in this fresco (Chapman and Buonarroti, 2005). He used oil and tempera to apply successive tones using intense colors and then lighter ones.

Leonardo used the mural painting style to do this large painting which actually covers an entire wall. He used a dry wall to paint meaning that he had the freedom to experiment and add some elements with time. Tempera technique is evident where he used oil paint and mixtures of vinegar and egg yolks.

Conclusion

Mona Lisa, the creation of Adam, and the last supper paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti are some of the famous pieces of art of all time. These paintings were done during the renaissance period in Italy and they incorporate different styles of painting. These renowned artists employed different styles like Sfumato, Gombrich, mannerist, and figurative, as well as Cangianti painting styles. These three paintings have different symbolic significance and different points of view of the artists.

References

Chapman, H. and Buonarroti, M. (2005). Michelangelo drawings: closer to the master. USA: Yale University Press.

Da Vinci, L. (2008). Mona Lisa. France: Mus{’e}e du Louvre, Paris.

Kemp, M. (2006). Leonardo da Vinci: the marvelous works of nature and man. USA: Oxford University Press, USA.

Leslie, L. (2007). Auto-annotation of paintings using social annotations, domain ontology and transductive inference. Advances in Multimedia Information Processing, 1 (12), 266-275.

Meshberger, F.(1990). An interpretation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam based on neuro-anatomy. JaMa, 264 (14), 1837-1841.

Salcman, M. (2006). The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Neurosurgery, 59 (6), 11.

Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest artists in history whose artistic paintings are very popular around the world. Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings are among the best paintings in his collection. Da Vinci’s curiosity and imagination influenced most of his artistic expressions.

Da Vinci’s artistic prowess is manifested in Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings. The two paintings put Da Vinci on the world map and until now he is regarded as the best painter of all time. Historical sources reveal that Da Vinci did not work on the two paintings during the same time.

Da Vinci painted the Last Supper painting before he started working on the Mona Lisa painting. The events in the renaissance period influenced the majority of Da Vinci’s paintings including Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. This paper will compare and contrast Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings done by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The Last Supper painting was specifically done for Da Vinci’s master known as Duke Ludovico. The Last Supper is a sacred painting that represents the last meeting that Jesus held with his disciples a few moments before his death.

The painting shows Jesus taking the last supper with his disciples as he disclosed to them who among his disciples would betray him. The painting is influenced by the chronology of Jesus that is recorded in the book of John chapter 13.

On the other hand, Mona Lisa is a secular painting that depicts an Italian woman with a very attractive smile seated on an arm chair. The woman has an enigmatic expression on her face.

The identity of the woman in the painting is not exactly known but sources suggest that the woman in the Mona Lisa painting is Lisa Del Giocondo who was the wife of a rich Italian merchant.

The Mona Lisa painting was the most poplar painting across the world compared to the Last Supper painting. The Mona Lisa painting was later displayed permanently in a Paris museum.

The naming of Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings is based on the themes represented in the paintings and situations at the time. The specific themes that Da Vinci wanted to communicate to his audience influenced the naming of the two paintings.

Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings portray ancient cultural issues. The Last Supper painting depicts Jesus and his disciples who were Jews sharing a meal during the ancient Passover festival. The ancient Jewish culture is therefore represented fully in the Last Supper painting.

The Passover festival is among the most important aspects of the Jewish culture because Jews commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Jesus shares a meal with his twelve disciples as part of the Jewish religious customs.

On the hand, the Italian culture is fully represented in the Mona Lisa painting. Da Vinci began painting in Italy and this is why the majority of his paintings including Mona Lisa portray an Italian culture.

Da Vinci later moved to France but his love for the Italian culture was always portrayed in his paintings. Historical sources reveal that the woman in the Mona Lisa painting was the wife of Francesco Del Giocondo who was a very rich Italian merchant during his days.

Lisa Del Giocondo belonged to the Gherardini family that marked the birth of their children with a special celebration. Da Vinci’s painting was a dedication to the Gherardini family during the celebration of the birth of Giocondo’s second born son named Andrea.

The materials on which the two paintings were made are completely different and unique. The two pieces of art portray the quality of Da Vinci’s judgment in choosing the right materials suitable for each type of painting. Da Vinci used the wood’s panel and oil paint to make the Mona Lisa painting.

The sfumato method of painting where the depth of a drawing is created using color layers is an ancient Italian method of painting that Da Vinci used to create the Mona Lisa painting.

The Mona Lisa painting is very unique and amazing because there is no hint of any brush strokes on the painting. It is sometimes very difficult to believe that an artist could actually do a painting with no brush strokes.

On contrast, oil and tempera were the materials that Da Vinci used to create the Last Supper painting. Da Vinci painted the Last Supper painting on a plaster and a stone wall. The tempera material used to paint the Last supper is a mixture of egg yolk and vinegar which were the most popular painting materials at that time.

Da Vinci Preferred to use a dry surface instead of a wet one to create a mural painting. A pitch was used to cover the Last Supper painting to cover the tempera use to create the painting. The oil paint common materials used create the two paintings. The materials used by Da Vinci to create Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings were the most appropriate at that time.

Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings have a subject matter and a message that the artist wanted to communicate to his audience. In fact, all of Da Vinci’s paintings have a subject matter and there is no way that Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings would fail to have a subject matter.

Lisa Del Giocondo is the subject matter in the Mona Lisa painting. On the other hand, Jesus talking to his disciple is the subject matter of the Last Supper painting. The style and size of Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings are very different.

The size of the Last Supper painting is 4.6 by 8.8 meters whereas the Mona Lisa painting is very small in size and is estimated to be 77 by 53 centimeters. The style of the Last Supper painting is a tempera variation that Da Vinci used to create a painting on plaster and stone.

The Italian sfumato style was used by Da Vinci to make the Mona Lisa painting. In the sfumato style, the artist creates imaginary expressions by blending light and shadow. The sfumato style comes out clearly in the Mona Lisa Painting where Da Vinci paints the eyes and the mouth corners of the woman by blending light and shadow.

This style makes some parts of the painting to appear different when observed from different angles. The painting style used to paint the two pieces of art is similar to that used by other artists.

The way in which the artist develops the subject matter in Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings is very different. In the Last supper painting, Jesus is portrayed as the main figure while his disciples appear as if they are shocked by the news that one of them would betray Jesus.

There is an expression of shock on the faces of Jesus’ disciples as a result of the announcement made by Jesus. The enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa appears very uncertain deu to the way Da Vinci develops the subject matter in the painting.

The woman in the Mona Lisa painting is depicted is a simple manner right from her posture to her dressing. The painting depicts a reserved woman in a wealthy Italian family. Da Vinci brings out the woman’s beauty in a simple but breath-taking style.

The facial expression of the woman in the Mona Lisa painting appears different when viewed from different angles and has made many people to question the sincerity in her smile.

The two paintings have some symbolism that Da Vinci uses to pass across his message. The bread that Jesus shares with his disciples in the Last Supper painting represents his body which he was about to give out as a living sacrifice.

The wine in the painting symbolizes the blood of Jesus that he would shed to guarantee humankind forgiveness of their sins. The Passover feast symbolized Jesus’ farewell party with his disciples.

On the other hand, the woman in the Mona Lisa painting symbolizes the wife of a wealthy Italian merchant known as Giocondo. The woman in the Mona Lisa painting clearly portrays how Italian women were reserved without any kind of sophistication during ancient times.

The reserved nature of an Italian woman is symbolized by the dressing of the woman in the painting. The woman’s eyes seem to suggest that there are some secretes inside her that provoke the curiosity of the audience.

The two paintings pass across some messages to the audience as depicted by the expressions and symbols in the two paintings. The symbols and expressions in the Mona Lisa painting pass across the message of simplicity, culture and beauty.

On the other hand, the symbols and expressions in the Last Supper painting pass across the message of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. The painting carries a message of hope to Christians and portrays Jesus’ death a positive thing for all Christians.

Da Vinci created Mona Lisa when Giocondo’s family was celebrating the birth of their second son. The Last Supper painting was made during the revival period when scientific inventions had taken the place of Christianity.

Many people had stopped believing in God and most of their attention had gone to science. The renaissance period influenced the messages in Da Vinci’s paintings. Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings depict the social, economic and religious events at the time Da Vinci was making the paintings.

In conclusion, Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings are among the best works done by Da Vinci. The analysis of the two paintings shows that the two paintings have both similarities and differences.

Da Vinci is the best artist of all time and his paintings portray his artistic prowess. The similarities between the two paintings are in the painting style and the use of symbolism. The paintings are different when it comes to the materials used, size, subject matter, cultural representation, messages passed across and the category of paintings.

Introduction

The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is among the most famous paintings globally. The artist painted the Mona Lisa due to his fascination with the way light appears on curved surfaces. The image involves a half-body portrait of a woman, and the enigmatic smile of the lady reflects the artist’s idea of the connection between nature and humanity. The excellent and beautiful Mona Lisa painting contains various elements of art, such as line, color, and shape, as well as the principles, for instance, emphasis and rhythm.

Line and Texture

Leonardo da Vinci used numerous elements of art in Mona Lisa, for instance, curved lines to represent comfort, loveliness, and gentleness. The picture contains several repeating lines from the clothing folds and the road in the background. Leonardo da Vinci used oil painting which created a smooth texture and slightly glossy surfaces; however, the far set contains slightly rougher underpaintings. Numerous shadings give the figure shape outlining areas where the forehead turns to hair and clothing changes to a hand.

Color, Shape, and Space

Moreover, the face of the Mona Lisa painting contains warm colors such as orange, yellow, and red, while the background contains cool colors, for instance, green and blue. The artist used realistic quantities of darker shades for shading. The hair comprises layers of transparent color that are slightly thick, contributing to the glowing appearance of the lady’s face (Keshelava 17). Mona Lisa’s painting has a rectangular shape measuring 30 by 20 inches as the artist applied artistic principles to deliver an excellent piece. The figure also contains a sense of depth since it is angled on a chair and background. The figure seems to consist of three triangles, with the lady being the biggest and two locations on the left top and right top corner. It is a two-dimensional space picture having height and width as well as illusionistic with atmospheric perspective.

Balance, Emphasis, and Subordination

Leonardo da Vinci applied the principles of art while painting Mona Lisa, for instance, asymmetrical balance. The woman exerts weight on a single side of the painting; however, there is still balance despite the figure’s positioning being off-center. The image emphasizes the woman’s facial expression since she is smiling, and her eyes fall directly in the viewers’ center of vision (Keshelava 18). The smile and the eyes make a subtle expression challenging to capture in most photographs and paintings. The less visually exciting areas are the right and left backgrounds since they seem faded, lacking distinct features or information.

Scale and Proportion

The scale and proportion of the Mona Lisa can be explained using Botero’s version of Mona Lisa, which possesses a similar manipulation. The latter results in distortion of the painting since it has a massive head to body presenting a child-like figure. The Mona Lisa portrait lies in a well-structured space and is painted to a reasonable scale. It is half-length of a woman from head to the waist.

Conclusion

Mona Lisa portrait by Da Vinci implies the elements and principles of art such as emphasis and coordination. The painting has curved lines to indicate comfort and loveliness and a reasonable amount of darker colors for shading. It comprises three triangles with a lady occupying the most prominent space and two left and suitable backgrounds, both being at the top. The positioning of the picture is off-center, exerting weight on one side, thus making it have asymmetrical balance. The emphasis is on the woman’s facial expressions, and the background is less attractive due to inadequate details.

Work Cited

Keshava, Grigol. “Analysis of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa del Giocondo.” International Journal of Health Sciences, vol. 8, no. 3, 2020, pp. 17-20.