Inside the bustling Louvre in France, there is a mysterious, desirable woman standing there, quietly staring ahead. She wore a scarf as thin as a cicada's wing and an expensive low-cut black dress. She seemed to be smiling, her eyes were staring at the person in front of her, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, making the dignified appearance more lively, the skin of her hands was round and full, and the posture of her arms overlapping each other also showed the atmosphere of nobility.
This unassuming woman is the Mona Lisa. "Mona Lisa" is an outstanding oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci, because the viewer can often feel the woman smiling when looking at the oil painting, so this painting is also known as "Mona Lisa's Smile". The magic of "Mona Lisa" is that from her posture and the turquoise mountains behind her, you can see her carefree life and yearning for beautiful nature, which will also bring comfort to the audience.
On the European continent, the 14th century saw the budding of the Renaissance, a game of ideas that lasted for more than three hundred years, and the Mona Lisa was a new force that burst forth in such a complex and dynamic era. One day in 1503, Leonardo da Vinci, who was painting in his studio, received a letter from his father, who asked him to paint for his friend's wife. The customer was a wealthy silk merchant who loved his wife Lisa so much that he came here to ask Leonardo da Vinci to paint for her.
Leonardo da Vinci received his reward and began to set up the environment. He had a premonition that he was going to spend a long time painting, and in order to relax the model's mood, he decorated the room with many flowers and invited a band to accompany the model. Sure enough, his hunch was accurate, and the painting actually took up to a year to create.
This is not the later Mona Lisa, but its draft "Elworth Mona Lisa", she is different from the Mona Lisa, her face looks younger and more energetic, and the smile on her face can make people feel really happy, this may be a young girl who has just come of age, she has not yet experienced the tribulations of the world.
The young Mona Lisa was not favored by her master, and Leonardo da Vinci looked at the finished painting and felt that something was missing. It was not until thirteen years later that Leonardo da Vinci reconsidered the Mona Lisa, and after contacting the wealthy merchants, he recalled Lisa, who had grown into a woman, to the studio and painted again.
The second painting is the now widely circulated Mona Lisa, and a closer look reveals that the Mona Lisa has matured over time and her signature smile has changed slightly. Some psychological researchers have carefully observed and found that mona Lisa's smile is not only happy emotions, but also with disgust, fear, and anger. As you can imagine, Lisa's life in recent years may not be satisfactory, and time has made her smile no longer pure.
Her smile is mixed with more other emotions that are what keeps her smile. When a person hides other emotions in his heart, his face will show a state of unfazed. Therefore, when people see that she seems to be smiling forever, it is because her heart wants to let everyone see her smile, although Lisa may be really happy at that time, but in order to be able to show the perfect smile more accurately, she can only sacrifice part of the emotions in her heart.
In addition, there are researchers who have tried to turn the Mona Lisa upside down to admire, and when they see the part of the eyes, the appearance has changed dramatically, and the eyes have no smile and gentleness, and become a sword that shoots into the heart. Some of the scholars present even developed a fear of the painting, believing that the Mona Lisa possessed the power of a demonic curse. Perhaps fear is only a true reflection of human nature.
In fact, the smile in the painting "Mona Lisa" reflects the state of the European Renaissance bourgeoisie, when the bourgeoisie was in a period of vigorous development, and the life of the nobles and rich people was carefree, and the reason why Mona Lisa could have such an idyllic smile was inseparable from her rich husband and prominent status. Behind her smile is bourgeois self-confidence and pride.
The background of the mountains and rivers behind it reflects the people's love of nature and humanity at that time, and the pursuit of the revival of ancient Roman and Athenian culture. The Renaissance began with the bourgeoisie rebelling against the Church's control over man, and during this period of history people loved life and liberty, believed in science, and were disgusted by the pedantic and cruel methods of the Church. As a leading figure in the Renaissance, many of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings embody this idea, such as the Last Supper, which is as famous as the Mona Lisa.
"Life is precious, love is more expensive, and if it is for freedom, both can be thrown away." To this day, one can still find more qualities worth exploring in Renaissance works, and people-oriented and freedom are not only the goals of that time, but also the goals we pursue now.