Why is the Mona Lisa painting so famous?

Answer 1

Have a look at what the Louvre have to say about her and then make up your mind as to why you think she's famous.

This portrait was doubtless painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506. It is thought to be of Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo - hence the alternative title, La Gioconda. However, Leonardo seems to have taken the completed portrait to France rather than giving it to the person who commissioned it. It was eventually returned to Italy by Leonardo's student and heir Salai. It is not known how the painting came to be in François I's collection.



Description


Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco Giocondo

The history of the Mona Lisa is shrouded in mystery. Among the aspects which remain unclear are the exact identity of the sitter, who commissioned the portrait, how long Leonardo worked on the painting, how long he kept it, and how it came to be in the French royal collection.
The portrait may have been painted to mark one of two events - either when Francesco del Giocondo and his wife bought their own house in 1503, or when their second son, Andrea, was born in December 1502 after the death of a daughter in 1499. The delicate dark veil that covers Mona Lisa's hair is sometimes considered a mourning veil. In fact, such veils were commonly worn as a mark of virtue. Her clothing is unremarkable. Neither the yellow sleeves of her gown, nor her pleated gown, nor the scarf delicately draped round her shoulders are signs of aristocratic status.


A new artistic formula


The Mona Lisa is the earliest Italian portrait to focus so closely on the sitter in a half-length portrait. The painting is generous enough in its dimensions to include the arms and hands without them touching the frame. The portrait is painted to a realistic scale in the highly structured space where it has the fullness of volume of a sculpture in the round. The figure is shown in half-length, from the head to the waist, sitting in a chair whose arm is resting on balusters. She is resting her left arm on the arm of the chair, which is placed in front of a loggia, suggested by the parapet behind her and the two fragmentary columns framing the figure and forming a "window" looking out over the landscape. The perfection of this new artistic formula explains its immediate influence on Florentine and Lombard art of the early 16th century. Such aspects of the work as the three-quarter view of a figure against a landscape, the architectural setting, and the hands joined in the foreground were already extant in Flemish portraiture of the second half of the 15th century, particularly in the works of Hans Memling. However, the spacial coherence, the atmospheric illusionism, the monumentality, and the sheer equilibrium of the work were all new. In fact, these aspects were also new to Leonardo's work, as none of his earlier portraits display such controlled majesty.


An emblematic smile

The Mona Lisa's famous smile represents the sitter in the same way that the juniper branches represent Ginevra Benci and the ermine represents Cecilia Gallerani in their portraits, in Washington and Krakow respectively. It is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word "gioconda" in Italian. Leonardo made this notion of happiness the central motif of the portrait: it is this notion which makes the work such an ideal. The nature of the landscape also plays a role. The middle distance, on the same level as the sitter's chest, is in warm colors. Men live in this space: there is a winding road and a bridge. This space represents the transition between the space of the sitter and the far distance, where the landscape becomes a wild and uninhabited space of rocks and water which stretches to the horizon, which Leonardo has cleverly drawn at the level of the sitter's eyes.

Answer 2

The Mona Lisa is by far one of the most remarkable and captivating paintings, and one of the many reasons why it's so famous and well known is because the famous Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci painted it. Many have claimed that the painting was nothing more than a self-portrait of Da Vinci, others however feel that the mysteriousness of the elegant Mona Lisa will never be revealed, perhaps her mystery is better left alone. Her smile and her unique pose seems to captivate people, therefore it draws them in, and her smile says it all.

Answer 3

Because the most popular and influential renaissance artist in history painted it. I also think people are drawn to it because of the unusual mystery and beauty of the Mona Lisa.

Answer 4

Even today, photographers and cinematographers use the lighting that Rembrandt used in order to get what they want for mood. Amazing. For instance, The Exorcist, watch the film again, and then look at the Mona Lisa.

Answer 5

Because it's one of the few surviving works painted by the great renaissance polymath Leonardo DaVinci.

He liked to fiddle with the composition of his paints, but most of his concoctions ruined the durability of his works.

He also had a bad habit of not finishing things, preferring to rush onto whatever his next project was.

Answer 6

Mostly because of the artist. Da Vinci carried it around with him for like 10 years or something.....and it's painted on a wooden board....and nobody knows who the lady was, or even if it was a lady....and, it's an interesting painting, one that was meant to be mysterious.....the most expressive areas of the face (eyes, lips, etc.) are shaded, so no one knows if she is happy or sad.

Answer 7

supposedly, the Mona Lisa is so famous because Leonardo DaVinci said it was his greatest work of art ever.

Answer 8

It was painted by the famous Leonardo da Vinci, also there is so much mystery around her. Like who was she, if she was important or not, and of course her smile.

Answer 9

Because of the work is so masterfully done, and at the time it was painted it has never been done before. Such a realistical smile and face.

Answer 10

First because of her distinct smile.

Secondly, it is said that a number of animals were painted into the scenery. Kind of a mirage thing.