The Importance Of The Mona Lisa

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Leonardo da Vinci painted one of the most enigmatic women in the art world. She goes by many names La Gioconda, La Joconde, but is most well known under the name Mona Lisa. She is a portrait known by so many people around the world. Some compare her to the divine rather than human due to her expression, cryptic yet cheerful (Boas, pg 210). This woman captivates many due to her mystery and disputed past. Many things are of interest about the Mona Lisa including the expression and ambiguity of the sitter (Orford, decodearts.com). Did da Vinci intend for the observers to be intrigued by her mysterious nature? Intention is a mystery; however, it is apparent that intention has a great deal to do with the rising popularity of the Mona Lisa, not …show more content…

Intention ultimately effects how the art is perceived, judge, critiqued and later popularized. Not only for the Mona Lisa but, for all art the intention of the artist can never truly be deciphered, this creates a bit of mystery within the art world. Furthermore, in the case of Leonardo da Vinci 's the Mona Lisa is valued because of her mystery and her uncanny ability to be formatted into the interests of any time period. Well conceived art, such as the Mona Lisa, allows the observer to understand the work using their own inferences while, still appealing to the …show more content…

The Mona Lisa could mean so many things and is surrounded by speculation, which is why she is famous and why she is valued art. Not only has the reason why the Mona Lisa is valued changed over time but, the Mona Lisa herself changed dramatically over the three years of her conception. Change and the ability to change -- the ability to be perceived differently at different times enables a piece of artwork to be timeless. Intention is a valuable part of art work; not only the artist intention but, the observers intention when they are observing the art

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