When Mona Lisa's Smile is widely discussed, the focus always seems to be on the painter Da Vinci, rather than on the owner of the face, Lisa Galardini.
In historical records, the woman is unknown. But in her time, social customs changed rapidly, political situations were constantly conflicting, economic life was turbulent, and artistic creation was inspired. At that time, Western civilization saw a new dawn. Her life may seem prosaic, but when we look back more than 500 years later, the details of her life form an extraordinary picture that presents Renaissance Florence in an intuitive way.
This article describes the process of creating this portrait, in addition to showing da Vinci's painting techniques, ideals and ingenuity, it is also intended to reveal where Lisa attracted Leonardo da Vinci and why she was chosen as the subject of this painting.
If I could freeze a day in Lisa Galardini's life, it would be June 15, 1503, her 24th birthday. In that sweet moment, she had every reason to be happy. The person she marries can provide her with a safe and comfortable life. In the 8 years since the wedding, she accepted a stepson, treated him as her own, and gave birth to 5 children. Although she can only love Piera, who died when she was two years old, she is still grateful to see the 7-year-old Piero thrive like summer wheat. Marletta and Camilla, one 3 years old and one 4 years old, are her little babies. Andrea is her beloved youngest son. Her husband, Francesco del Giorcondo, gave her many gifts, including evening gowns and jewelry. He also purchased a property for a growing family. Now, there is this unexpected brilliant day.
Most biographers agree that Leonardo da Vinci began painting portraits of Lisa from 1503 (some biographers say leonardo probably began a year or two earlier). Perhaps, the time of concentrated creation began in the spring of that year after his return from the Borgia barracks, and ended in the autumn when he took over a new municipal custom project. Lisa probably didn't know the details of the arrangement—it was all a matter of discussion among the men. No matter when and where Leonardo and Lisa first met, according to the custom of the time, when a famous elder in Florence, who was (already 51 years old) enough to be her father, formally met a lady, they should be polite.
Lisa, as a married woman with a code of conduct, slowly reached out. Leonardo lifted it gently and gave it a symbolic kiss. Even if she remained reserved and her eyes were low, she could feel that the painter in front of her was different from other men. He stared at the contours of her face as if he were about to crush her bones and then reassemble them in his own mind. Leonardo speaks in a melodious voice, a sentence that sounds like a song that can remove any tension she may have. The trajectories of their lives are unlikely to intersect. Lisa understood this and was at a loss. Perhaps, she inadvertently curled her lips and revealed a smile. Later, she bravely raised her head, which gave Leonardo a first impression of her two eyes: they were "mirrors of the soul."
Lisa's eyes were deep, and there was something special that fascinated Leonardo. As the art critic Sir Kenneth Clark put it, it was "something inherent in his ideals". Clarke went on to say: "He had refused to accept the pope, the king and the maharajah's request for customization, but instead used his ultimate technique of carefully drawing portraits of the second wife of an obscure Florentine citizen. If it's not because of that kind of thing, what else can explain this fact? ”
Perhaps, Lisa's tiny popularity has only added to her charm. What Leonardo is going to do is not whitewash a monarch who loves vanity. He can use every technique he has honed, every theory he has created, and practice every insight he has carefully accumulated to capture the style of a real woman. He can reproduce an ordinary person with multiple dimensions, not anyone's pawn, possessions, or fantasies. Perhaps, Leonardo's unique vision is not just such an ordinary young wife: the joy and distress brought her by small children, the husband liked to brag, and the generations of extended families quarreled constantly.
"Give your character an attitude that shows what they think deep inside." Leonardo once admonished young painters, "If you don't do this, your work should not be appreciated." What fascinated Leonardo was Lisa's "attitude," the Géraldini-esque trait she exhibited in a personal way: she had generosity and regarded other people's children as her own; she was gentle in temperament and tamed her moody husband; she was determined—as she would prove in the future—to make very difficult choices; she was stoic and could support her family through the turbulent dark years that would unfold. Leonardo's vision transcended Lisa's girl, perhaps seeing the essence of the woman she was about to become.
In the process of creating the Mona Lisa, Leonardo revolutionized art in a way that had never been seen before. He used the so-called "golden ratio" (which he worked on with the mathematician Pacioli) to calculate the ideal distance between the neck, eyes, forehead, nose and lips. In addition, he places objects in the air and light, accentuating Lisa's flexible hands and making them look like masterpieces of nature. This method is called "air perspective" or "atmospheric perspective". As a result, objects in the foreground are clearly outlined and objects in the distance are slightly blurred. Moreover, he placed Lisa in a unique scene, allowing her to merge with the winding roads, arched bridges, rocks and landscapes.
Leonardo, like Prometheus, gave his work life. The Lisa in the picture has life, both as a person and as something elusive: "visual poetry"—that is his ultimate goal.
Leonardo bought expensive pigments from his favorite pharmacists, such as cinnabar, which was as red as dragon's blood, and ultramarine, which was extracted from very rare and expensive lapis lazuli. He mixed those rich pigments with oil in his preferred way.
The new pigments dried longer than the fresco paints he used in Verrocchio's studio to make eggs. This allowed him to better use unique techniques unknown to other Florentine artists, expressing subtle chiaroscuro changes.
Leonardo placed Lisa's heart in the very center of the composition, leaving her torso in a sitting position, standing upright from the baseline of crossed hands into a majestic pyramid, with her head at the top. He seated Lisa in a straight-back chair with curved armrests and asked her to turn her body in a balanced compositional pose. Her right shoulder was thrown back and her face turned in the opposite direction.
Modern researchers have scanned the paintings deeply and found that Lisa may have initially grasped the arm of the chair with her left hand, as if to prop up her body. Later, Leonardo changed her mind, asking her to put her hands in front of her body, her left hand against the chair, her right hand on her left hand (a sign of virtue), and her flexible fingers parted and gently placed on the sleeve of her left hand. The pose is creative and creates an illusion that the two hands seem to be closer to the viewer than the rest of the body.
If I were wearing hand-stitched slippers like Lisa Guéraldini, I might have opted for the most fashionable blouse — perhaps an evening gown with a fancy velvet top. Of course, the garment uses the finest fabrics found in del Djorcondo's silk shop. In addition, I probably wear the most eye-catching pearl necklace around my neck, and my finger may be wearing a ring—maybe two—set with large gemstones. This is the image of the Florentine merchant who likes to show off. However, although Francesco customized the portrait, he did not seem to have any say in his wife's dress. Moreover, at that stage of his career, no one asked Leonardo what method to take when painting, what subject matter to choose.
In his paintings, Leonardo had the virgins dressed in what a scholar called "fashionable elegance"; however, he removed all the ornaments from Lisa's body: no pearlescent blouse, no brocade blouse, no jewelry, not even a wedding ring. In Leonardo's notebook, I once saw a comment: "A peasant girl in the mountains, poor, ragged, without any embellishments." However, she is very beautiful, more than a woman who wears gold and silver. That's when I began to understand his motives for dressing up Lisa like that. Lisa is not a ragged country woman, but there is no need to use fancy embellishments to attract the attention of the viewer.
Source: Reading Times, Issue 01, 2022
Author: Diana Hales
Editor-in-charge: Ma Jingjing, Editor: Deng Rumeng