MONALISA-Leonardo da Vinci INTRODUCTION

The Mona Lisa is 16th century oil painting created by the renowned Leonardo da Vinci. The work of art depicts an enigmatic woman gazing at the viewer, and it is said that if you move across the room while looking into her eyes, theyll follow you. It is definitely one of the most popular paintings worldwide and has been the center of many artistic, religious, and theoretical debates. The French government currently owns the Mona Lisa and it is featured at the Musee du Louvre in Paris. The painting can also be referred to as La Gioconda or La Joconde. The name of the painting stems from the name of the woman in the portrait, Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy businessman in Florence, Italy named Francesco del Giocondo. Mona means my lady or madam in modern Italian, so the title is simply Madam Lisa. Art historians agree that Leonardo da Vinci likely began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503, and completed it within 4 years. In 1516 the King of France, King Francois, bought the painting and it is thought that after Leonardos death the painting was cut down. Some speculators think that the original had columns on both sides of the lady, whereas other art critics believe that the painting was never cut down in size. It has been suggested that there were 2 versions of the Mona Lisa painting, but many historians reject the second version. The duplicate copy can be found at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. After the French revolution the painting was moved to the Louvre, and Napoleon had it placed in his bedroom for a short time before it was returned to the Louvre. The popularity of the Mona Lisa increased in the mid 19th century because of the Symbolist movement. The painting was thought to encompass a sort of feminine mystique. In 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. The art thief hid in a broom closet until the museum closed, stole the painting, hid it under his jacket and walked out the front door. Eduardo de Valfierno was the mastermind behind the theft and has planned to make copies of the original and sell them as the real thing. Eventually, in 1913, he was caught when trying to sell the original to a Florence art dealer. The Mona Lisa is most famous for her facial expression, her enigmatic smile and da Vincis mastering of tone and color in the painting. There is much mythology and interpretations relating to the painting that mystify the world. Many art critics and art history buffs suggest that the Mona Lisa is actually a portrait of da Vinci himself in feminine form. In addition, most viewers see the meaning behind Mona Lisas smile very differently. Most people know that Leonardo da Vinci is the artist, but many believe that the womans identity is unknown. Some even think that its him Leonardo da Vinci himself in the female form. The most commonly believed theory is that the woman is Lisa Gherardini, born in 1479. She was 24 years old and the mother of two sons when she posed for the painting. Why he chose her is still a mystery.

The painting actually has a recent imperfection. In 1956, a man named Ugo Ungaza threw a rock at the painting, which resulted in a small patch of damaged paint next to her left elbow.

 The unrivaled fame of this work is partially because it was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in broad daylight by an employee in 1911. It was quickly recovered two years later. The painting is considered priceless and cannot be insured. The painting resides in its own room in the Louvre Museum in Paris and is protected in a climate controlled environment and encased in bullet proof glass. This room was built especially for the painting and cost the museum over seven million dollars. Leonardo never signed or dated the painting. The dimensions of the painting are 30 high and 20 7/8 in width. The canvas she is painted on is made from a wood called poplar. The type of paint he chose to use was oil based. It is rumored that the reason she has no eyebrows in the painting is because during one of the first times they were trying to clean and restore the painting an error was made and the eyebrows were accidentally removed. Other thoughts are that Leonardo, who was the consummate perfectionist, never finished the painting, as most of his paintings were left unfinished. Recent extensive studies show that there are three different versions painted under the presently viewed version. One version has her hands clutching the arms of the chair instead of in front of her. A typical example of Lionardo's style of painting is the Mona Lisa with its perspective and "turnings". We are going to illustrate Lionardo's diverse painting style. This style is something that we today regard as a science, as opposed to that of many of his peers and modern painters. We will focus on and discuss the landscape behind the Mona Lisa. Much is written about the landscape and its two different perspectives. The landscape is painted to the left and to the right, behind Mona Lisa and in two different levels. The two different levels have always been viewed at from directly in front of the painting. This was one of the mistakes that we will present in this conclusion. We will also refer to Lionardos theory about "turnings"his famous thesis that he prepared for publication, where he describes a method for capturing human movements on the canvas. In the Mona Lisa he experimented with the landscape. The two different parts of the landscape are very often seen from the perspective of two separate levels, the higher landscape and the lower landscape. The two perspectives have an active part to the completeness of the painting, both on the lefthand- and righthand- sides of the landscape, behind Mona Lisa. This was an experiment that Lionardo painted to bring the landscape in line with Mona Lisa . This picture is yet another example of Lionardo's scientific experiments and thoughts. If we all, spectators and analysts, try to contemplate Lionardo's paintings in his own way, as described in Codex Madrid 1 and 2, then we will realise that the landscape and the figures are in accordance with one another. Writings about Lionardos fantasy landscape have nothing to do with the one in the Mona Lisa. In general, he uses the landscape to give depth, perspective, and flexible movement (1). As a result of this, many people think he painted a fantasy landscape in the Mona Lisa where both roads and bridges are painted below two lakes. We cannot see any water under the bridge but it's not so unusual to build a bridge over a road or a waterway where water will only rarely pass.

On closer examination of the painting and its landscape it can be seen that the time of year is towards the end of summer when lakes and watercourse are almost dry (2). The landscape behind Mona Lisa is the Alps. One can determine the time of year due to the fact that no snow is seen and by studying the plantlife. This typifies all of Lionardos paintings. The Mona Lisa also has the special light of dawn, which occurs at the end of summer. He loved this light and used it in all his paintings. When he painted the alpine landscape he had to compromise and lower the artistic level to a more fantastical landscape, in exchange for "turnings". This is a reason for why many people misinterpret Lionardo. The landscape was made unrealistic to give more power and movement to the Mona Lisa. Now the question; who was Mona Lisa? Many link the painting " La Gioconda" to the Mona Lisa. It is possible the portrait is of the wealthy shopkeeper, Francesco del Gioconda's mistress, entitled "La Gioconda", meaning Mona Lisa. What is the destiny of this painting? Has it been lost? We do not dispute the fact that Lionardo made this painting, but we do not believe it has any connections to the Mona Lisa that can be found in the Louvre. This becomes apparent on closer examination. The Mona Lisa that we all know so well is without any doubt the mother of Lionardo - the woman he praised so highly. Vasari described a painting by Lionardo, which was an order from the shopkeeper del Giocondo to portray his young mistress "Lisa di Antonio Maria di Noldo Gherardini". Vasari described the features of a young and beautiful woman - her eyebrows, eyelashes, and skin. In the Mona Lisa, which we believe to be Lionardos mother, the figure has neither eyebrows nor eyelashes. Her eyes look sad and her smile a bit scornful - not the expression of a young woman. Those who know Lionardos relationship with his mother better understand the expression in the painting. Lionardo had few meetings with Catharina, his biological mother, during his youth but still he paid for her an expensive funeral. She felt alienated from his upbringing but still they had a strong bond. There is also a nude painting of an expressionless and unrealistic Mona Lisa - the painter of which is unknown. Some have tried to ascribe this to the Lionardo school, but should Lionardo paint his mother naked? It is known through writings that Lionardo always took the Mona Lisa with him on his travels. By way of conclusion we will talk a little about the French King Frans I and his welcoming of Lionardo at the royal court. The French King built Lionardo a small castle nearby his own where he could get the attention and treatment he required during his last years of illness. This explains why the Mona Lisa is still in France and in the Louvre. The King highly respected and admired Lionardo and realised his greatness and talent. He felt honoured to be in the presence of Lionardo. The Mona Lisa became an admired picture, which was always dear to them - the most important picture for them both. New images uncover 25 secrets about the Mona Lisa, including proof that Leonardo da Vinci gave her eyebrows, solving a long-held mystery. The images are part of an exhibition, "Mona Lisa Secrets Revealed," which features new research by French engineer Pascal Cotte and debuts in the United States at the Metreon Center

in San Francisco, where it will remain through the end of this year. The Mona Lisa showcase is part of a larger exhibition called "Da Vinci: An Exhibition of Genius." Cotte, founder of Lumiere Technology, scanned the painting with a 240-megapixel Multispectral Imaging Camera he invented, which uses 13 wavelengths from ultraviolet light to infrared. The resulting images peel away centuries of varnish and other alterations, shedding light on how the artist brought the painted figure to life and how she appeared to da Vinci and his contemporaries. "The face of Mona Lisa appears slightly wider and the smile is different and the eyes are different," Cotte said. "The smile is more accentuated I would say."

Mona Lisa mysteries

A zoomed-in image of Mona Lisa's left eye revealed a single brush stroke in the eyebrow region, Cotte said. "I am an engineer and scientist, so for me all has to be logical. It was not logical that Mona Lisa does not have any eyebrows or eyelashes," Cotte told LiveScience. "I discovered one hair of the eyebrow." Another conundrum had been the position of the subject's right arm, which lies across her stomach. This was the first time, Cotte said, that a painter had rendered a subject's arm and wrist in such a position. While other artists had never understood da Vinci's reasoning, they copied it nonetheless. Cotte discovered the pigment just behind the right wrist matched up perfectly with that of the painted cover that drapes across Mona Lisa's knee. So it did make sense: The forearm and wrist held up one side of a blanket. "The wrist of the right hand is up high on the stomach. But if you look deeply in the infrared you understand that she holds a cover with her wrist," Cotte said.

Behind a painting
The infrared images also revealed da Vinci's preparatory drawings that lie behind layers of varnish and paint, showing that the Renaissance man was also human. "If you look at the left hand you see the first position of the finger, and he changed his mind for another position," Cotte said. "Even Leonardo da Vinci had hesitation."

Other revelations include:

Lace on Mona Lisa's dress The transparency of the veil shows da Vinci first painted a landscape and then used transparency techniques to paint the veil atop it. A change in the position of the left index and middle finger.

The elbow was repaired from damage due to a rock thrown at the painting in 1956. The blanket covering Mona Lisa's knees also covers her stomach. The left finger was not completely finished. A blotch mark on the corner of the eye and chin are varnish accidents, countering claims that Mona Lisa was sick. And the Mona Lisa was painted on uncut poplar board, contrary to speculations. In the larger picture, Cotte said when he stands back and looks up at the enlarged infrared image of Mona Lisa, her beauty and mystique are apparent. "If you are in front of this huge enlargement of Mona Lisa, you understand instantly why Mona Lisa is so famous," Cotte said. He added, it's something you have to see with your own eyes.

MONA LISA WAS STOLEN!!

On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings in the world, was stolen right off the wall of the Louvre (famous museum in Paris, France). It was such an inconceivable crime, that the Mona Lisa wasn't even noticed missing until the following day. Who would steal such a famous painting? Why did they do it? Was the Mona Lisa lost forever?

The Discovery
Everyone had been talking about the glass panes that museum officials at the Louvre had put in front of several of their most important paintings. Museum officials stated it was to help protect the paintings, especially because of recent acts of vandalism. The public and the press thought the glass was too reflective. Louis Broud, a painter, decided to join in the debate by painting a young French girl fixing her hair in the reflection from the pane of glass in front of the Mona Lisa. On Tuesday, August 22, 1911, Broud walked into the Louvre and went to the Salon Carr where the Mona Lisa had been on display for five years. But on the wall where the Mona Lisa used to hang, in between Correggio's Mystical Marriage and Titian's Allegory of Alfonso d'Avalos, sat only four iron pegs. Broud contacted the section head of the guards, who thought the painting must be at the photographers'. A few hours later, Broud checked back with the section head. It was then discovered the Mona Lisa was not with the photographers. The section chief and other guards did a quick search of the museum -- no Mona Lisa. Since Thophile Homolle, the museum director, was on vacation, the curator of Egyptian antiquities was contacted. He, in turn, called the Paris police. About 60 investigators were sent over to the Louvre shortly after noon. They closed the museum and slowly let out the visitors. They then continued the search. It was finally determined that it was true -- the Mona Lisa had been stolen.

The Louvre was closed for an entire week to aid the investigation. When it was reopened, a line of people had come to solemnly stare at the empty space on the wall, where the Mona Lisa had once hung. An anonymous visitor left a bouquet of flowers.

The Clues
Unfortunately, there wasn't much evidence to go on. The most important discovery was found on the first day of the investigation. About an hour after the 60 investigators began searching the Louvre, they found the controversial plate of glass and Mona Lisa's frame lying in a staircase. The frame, an ancient one donated by Countess de Barn two years prior, had not been damaged. Investigators and others speculated that the thief grabbed the painting off the wall, entered the stairwell, removed the painting from its frame, and then somehow left the museum unnoticed. But when did all this take place? Investigators began to interview guards and workers to determine when the Mona Lisa went missing. One worker remembered having seen the painting around 7 o'clock on Monday morning (a day before it was discovered missing), but noticed it gone when he walked by the Salon Carr an hour later. He had assumed a museum official had moved it. Further research discovered that the usual guard in the Salon Carr was home (one of his children had the measles) and his replacement admitted leaving his post for a few minutes around 8 o'clock to smoke a cigarette. All of this evidence pointed to the theft occurring somewhere between 7:00 and 8:30 on Monday morning. But on Mondays, the Louvre was closed for cleaning. So, was this an inside job? Approximately 800 people had access to the Salon Carr on Monday morning. Wandering throughout the museum were museum officials, guards, workmen, cleaners and photographers. Interviews with these people brought out very little. One person thought they had seen a stranger hanging out, but he was unable to match the stranger's face with photos at the police station. The investigators brought in Alphonse Bertillon, a famous fingerprint expert. He found a thumbprint on the Mona Lisa's frame, but he was unable to match it with any in his files. There was a scaffold against one side of the museum that was there to aid the installation of an elevator. This could have given access to a would-be thief to the museum. Besides believing that the thief had to have at least some internal knowledge of the museum, there really wasn't much evidence. So, who did it?

Who did it?

Rumors and theories about the identity and motive of the thief spread like wildfire. Some Frenchmen blamed the Germans, believing the theft a ploy to demoralize their country. Some Germans thought it was a ploy by the French to distract from international concerns. The prefect of the police had his own theory:

he thieves -- I am inclined to think there were more than one -- got away with it -- all right. So far nothing is known of their identity and whereabouts. I am certain that the motive was not a political one, but maybe it is a case of 'sabotage,' brought about by discontent among the Louvre employees. Possibly, on the other hand, the theft was committed by a maniac. A more serious possibility is that La Gioconda was stolen by some one who plans to make a monetary profit by blackmailing the Government. Other theories blamed a Louvre worker, who stole the painting in order to reveal how bad the Louvre was protecting these treasures. Still others believed the whole thing was done as a joke and that the painting would be returned anonymously shortly. On September 7, 1911, 17 days after the theft, the French arrested Guillaume Apollinaire. Five days later, he was released. Though Apollinaire was a friend of Gry Piret, someone who had been stealing artifacts right under the guards' noses for quite a while, there was no evidence that he had any knowledge or had in any way participated in the theft of the Mona Lisa. Though the public was restless and the investigators were searching, the Mona Lisa did not show up. Weeks went by. Months went by. Then years went by. The latest theory was that the painting had been accidentally destroyed during a cleaning and the museum was using the idea of a theft as a cover-up.Two years went by with no word about the real Mona Lisa. And then the thief made contact.

The Robber Makes Contact

In the Autumn of 1913, two years after the Mona Lisa was stolen, a well-known antique dealer, Alfredo Geri, innocently placed an ad in several Italian newspapers which stated that he was "a buyer at good prices of art objects of every sort." 4 Soon after he placed the ad, Geri received a letter dated November 29 (1913), that stated the writer was in possession of the stolen Mona Lisa. The letter had a post office box in Paris as a return address and had been signed only as "Leonardo." Though Geri thought he was dealing with someone who had a copy rather than the realMona Lisa, he contacted Commendatore Giovanni Poggi, museum director of the Uffizi (museum in Florence, Italy). Together, they decided that Geri would write a letter in return saying that he would need to see the painting before he could offer a price. Another letter came almost immediately asking Geri to go to Paris to see the painting. Geri replied, stating that he could not go to Paris, but, instead, arranged for "Leonardo" to meet him in Milan on December 22. On December 10, 1913, an Italian man with a mustache appeared at Geri's sales office in Florence. After waiting for other customers to leave, the stranger told Geri that he was Leonardo Vincenzo and that he had the Mona Lisa back in his hotel room. Leonardo stated that he wanted a half million lire for the painting. Leonardo explained that he had stolen the painting in order to restore to Italy what had been stolen from it by Napoleon. Thus, Leonardo made the stipulation that theMona Lisa was to be hung at the Uffizi and never given back to France.

With some quick, clear thinking, Geri agreed to the price but said the director of the Uffizi would want to see the painting before agreeing to hang it in the museum. Leonardo then suggested they meet in his hotel room the next day.Upon his leaving, Geri contacted the police and the Uffizi.

The Return
The following day, Geri and Poggi (the museum director) appeared at Leonardo's hotel room. Leonardo pulled out a wooden trunk. After opening the trunk, Leonardo pulled out a pair of underwear, some old shoes, and a shirt. Then Leonardo removed a false bottom -- and there lay the Mona Lisa. Geri and the museum director noticed and recognized the Louvre seal on the back of the painting. This was obviously the real Mona Lisa. The museum director said that he would need to compare the painting with other works by Leonardo da Vinci. They then walked out with the painting. Leonardo Vincenzo, whose real name was Vincenzo Peruggia, was arrested. The story of the caper was actually much simpler than many had theorized. Vincenzo Peruggia, born in Italy, had worked in Paris at the Louvre in 1908. Still known by many of the guards, Peruggia had walked into the museum, noticed the Salon Carr empty, grabbed the Mona Lisa, went to the staircase, removed the painting from its frame, and walked out of the museum with the Mona Lisaunder his painters smock. Peruggia hadn't had a plan to dispose of the painting; his only goal was to return it to Italy. The public went wild at the news of finding the Mona Lisa. The painting was displayed throughout Italy before it was returned to France on December 30, 1913.

CONCLUSION:
Thus the Mona Lisa painting is a mystery yet to be understood by us. More information about Leonardo da Vinci can be known through many internet sites.