Mystery of Mona Lisa - Leonardo Da Vinci

Many of us would have known The Da Vinci Code, which became popular as a Novel and as a movie. The man behind this story - Leonardo Da Vinci is a Genius much larger than life.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. He was truly multi-faceted.

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, "at the third hour of the night" in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci, in the lower valley of the Arno River in the territory of Florence. He was the illegitimate son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina, a peasant.

In 1466, at the age of fourteen, Leonardo was apprenticed to the artist Andrea di Cione, known as Verrocchio whose workshop was "one of the finest in Florence". Much of the painted production of Verrocchio's workshop was done by his employees. In one such project, Leonardo collaborated with Verrocchio on his Baptism of Christ, painting the young angel holding Jesus's robe. This part of the painting was so far superior to his master's that Verrocchio put down his brush and never painted again. Infact, for the first time, Leonardo tried out a new technique and painted with angel's blue robes with Oil Paiting, which makes the dress shine with greater depth even today.



Mona Lisa: This is one of the mose celebrated paintings, apart from The Last Supper. Leonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy. According to Da Vinci's contemporary, Giorgio Vasari, "...after he had lingered over it four years, left it unfinished...." It is known that such behavior is common in most paintings of Leonardo who, later in his life, regretted "never having completed a single work".

He is thought to have continued to work on Mona Lisa for three years after he moved to France and to have finished it shortly before he died in 1519
. There are a few interesting facts to observe in Mona Lisa:

(1) Mona Lisa is a portrait of a woman named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting was commissioned for their new home and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. Since she was pregnant, her hands are crossed over in her sitting position.


(2) Despite repeated follow up's, Leonardo never delivered the completed work to Francesco del Giocondo. Probably he never wanted to part with Mona Lisa.

(3) The chest of Mona lisa is facing another direction, where us her face is turned towards the viewers. It is as if Mona lisa was sitting in a chair and when Leonardo called her, she twists a little and sees him.

(4) Unlike typical royal portrait with rich garments and ornaments, Mona lisa is in a very simple attire.

(5) You can observe a thin veil over her forehead and her hair.

(6) Despire being married, the fingers of Mona Lisa doesnot sport the wedding ring. Leonardo chose this gesture rather than a wedding ring to depict Lisa as a virtuous woman and faithful wife.

(7) The smile of Mona lisa's face is the most mysterious one. Many observe, if you keep starring at her, the smile enlarges.

(8) In typical portrait, the hair would be tied with decorations. Here Mona Lisa has loose hair over her shoulders.

(9) You may observe that Mona Lisa does not have eyebrows.

(10) Though many may 'feel' that Mona Lisa is looking at them, if you closely see her, she is not looking at you. But she is looking beyond you.Probably there is a 5 degree to 10 degree deviation from straight vision.


(11) In the back drop, the land scape on one side is different from the other side. With High mountains, bridge, lake and roads the land scape seems to be a mixture of may scenes.

(12) The Mona Lisa has survived for more than 500 years, and an international commission convened in 1952 noted that "the picture is in a remarkable state of preservation".

And painting is just one facet of Leonardo Da Vinci. And there are many more paintings of Leonardo, which you can see by clicking the link below:

Click Here: The Complete Works of Leonardo Da Vinci



Click here to view YOUTUBE video of Leonardo Da Vinci's Expertise in Geometry. Don't miss this. This video is really curious.


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