Some Facts Behind Mona Lisa Smile

Mona Lisa is a name that concerns the world because of its smile. This figure is a masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) which he made at the beginning of the 16th century. Not a few visitors come from various parts of the world to see this masterpiece in the Paris Louvre Museum, although the size of this painting is only 77 cm x 55 cm. A glimpse of Mona Lisa is only seen as a figure of a woman with a view behind her. His expression also seemed to speak to everyone who saw it. It also appeared to be a mystery and full of questions.

The following is a fantastic fact behind the Mona Lisa smile that people may not know much about. Check this out!

The woman behind the Mona Lisa

No one would have thought if this figure named Lisa Gherardini were eternal because it was the subject of a painting from Da Vinci. After he married a successful trader named Francesco del Giocondo, his name was changed to Lisa del Giocondo. Leonardo da Vinci painted this figure in 1503 with a commission at the request of his husband.

The word "Mona Lisa" means Mrs. Lisa. In Italian, this painting is titled La Gioconda, or its meaning is happy. The word Gioconda itself is a play on the last name of Lisa after marrying Giocondo.

Many falls in love with the figure in this painting

Although this painting is just an inanimate object, it turns out that the Mona Lisa has an attraction that can make people fall in love with it. Even a French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte once "slept" with him while throughout the painting in the room of the Emperor of France.

Quoted from Nypost, at the end of the 19th century, not a few visitors brought flowers, notes, and poems to express their love. Since 1815 letters have continued to arrive, including love letters. The phrase "love can drive crazy" might also apply in this case. Just like what happened to a worker at the Louvre named Vincenzo Peruggia. This man stole the Mona Lisa painting in 1911 because of his smile.

Even a man named Luc Maspero also committed suicide because of the Mona Lisa, who was in a hotel in Paris in 1853. If quoted from Telegraph.co.uk, this artist even wrote a letter stating that he had been imagined for years. His smile, until finally, he chose to end his life.

Many are loved but have been hurt

Besides many who like and love the Mona Lisa, it turns out this masterpiece also has haters. Some of them even tried desperately to hurt him. Although there are those who succeed and some fail. In 1956 this Mona Lisa painting was once showered with acid by a vandal. A few months later, a man from Bolivia threw stones at this painting, so he was injured again. Sob.

In the end, even tighter protection was made, and this Mona Lisa painting was guarded by bulletproof glass. However, don't stop there. In 1974 the attack returned but was stopped. Then in 2009, a woman from Russia went berserk because she was refused to become a French citizen throwing glasses at her painting. However, luck is back on the side of the Mona Lisa, and this painting was successfully held back from broken glass because there was a layer of glass protecting it.

His smile is full of Enigma

This painting is often crowded, immortalized with cameras, even adored. Mona Lisa has a smile full of the enigma that captivates the world. Even the most attractive smiles in Da Vinci's paintings can change and also look like they don't show a smile at all.

A neurobiologist named Margaret Livingstone, who studied the human visual system then sought answers from the mystery of the Mona Lisa by examining the expressions emitted by women immortalized with the oil paint. Margaret said if peripheral vision or the view of human peripherals see blurred images while the main picture looks at the details. When researchers from the United States use opaque filters on the Mona Lisa, the masterpiece's smile looks happy. However, when viewed to the information on the painting, then the expression that is seen is an expression of demure or sincerity.

Reportedly it turns out that Da Vinci has created an unnatural effect that can show a variety of smiles from the Mona Lisa depending on the angle where someone sees it.

Source: qubicle, nypost, telegraph