#7 What's the brouhaha about 'Mona Lisa'?

Is it only about her mystifying gaze and quirky smile? Let's take a closer look!

Earlier this month, a friend happened to send me a video Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci: Great Art Explained. I very conveniently ignored it.

Later that day, I had some time to kill so I started watching the video.

There was a reluctance because it’s Mona Lisa - it is described as "the most famous, most visited, most written, most sung, most bizarre work of art in the world". Everyone knows about Mona Lisa!

I thought I knew why Mona Lisa is famous but the video exposed me to the subtle shades of expression and meaning behind the portrait. I was intrigued.

This issue is a curation of information that I gathered out of curiosity to know more about the making of Mona Lisa. Enjoy the issue and I hope you find something interesting here.

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1517 | Amboise, France: King Francis I of France offered Leonardo da Vinci a job - Court painter, Engineer, and Architect to the King. Leonardo was in his 60s at the time.

He brought with him dozens of sketchbooks but just one painting, the Mona Lisa.

What importance did Mona Lisa hold? Maybe Leonardo knew it was a masterpiece in the making. Let’s rewind to 1503 when Leonardo began working on the portrait.

Fun fact: Mona Lisa is an unfinished work by Leonardo da Vinci. He kept working on it for years until his right hand became paralytic at the age of 65.

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1503 | Florence, Italy: It was the height of the Italian Renaissance. The rise of the merchant class with a disposable income and a mounting interest in humanism had popularised portrait-painting.

Leonardo was commissioned by a Florentine silk merchant and nobleman, Francesco del Giocondo to paint a portrait of his wife.

So let’s indulge:

Leonardo da Vinci is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. He dedicated himself to the study of Anatomy, Geology, Philosophy, Painting, Cartography, Paleontology, and Astronomy.

Mona Lisa is more than just a portrait of an individual, it’s an accumulation of knowledge translated into a painting.

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This is a first of its kind issue where I picked up a famous piece of art and dissected it. Did you enjoy this?

Also, tell me in the comment section which other paintings you’d like me to cover in future issues.

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Interesting finds:

1. The video that got me excited to explore more about Mona Lisa’s making.

2. Last year, on Leonardo Da Vinci's death anniversary. Nathaniel Drew decided to try Leonardo’s daily routine.

3. Leonardo also became known for his sketchbooks, in which he made drawings and notes on science and invention - here’s one of his books.

Found it valuable? Like the post and tell your friends about Holy Rabies! It will mean the world to me!

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This was issue #7 of Holy Rabies!

The plan was to cover NFT and its impact on digital art in issue #7 but I didn’t want to overload you with information. So, I am reserving it for some other time.

Holy Rabies! is a visual newsletter on Art, Creativity and Productivity

Sharing links to the previous issues of the newsletter:

• Issue #6: NFT and The Rise of Digital Art

• Issue #5: Is Time Management your pain points too?

• Issue #4: The $150,000 Banana

Explore more of Holy Rabies! and see what excites you.

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Cheers,

Monica