ABOUT MONA LISA
| INTRODUCTION When it comes to Art and Popular Culture, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, is indeed the original celebrity “Cover Girl.” This enigmatic face set the world stage for what we now cherish as Iconography. Born in Florence in 1503 and currently residing at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, Mona Lisa (‘La Gioconda’) has had the luxurious lifestyle of a jet setter, filled with glamour, fame, politics and historical events. During her early adolescent and teen years, Mona Lisa lived like a Disney fairytale princess. She was granted the first class treatment of kings and queens in Amboise and Versailles. She partied like a royal French rock star when she lived with Napoleon at the Tuileries Palace. She even pursued The American Dream when Jacqueline Kennedy invited her to Camelot in 1963, allowing Americans to catch a rare glimpse of her European enigmatic smile and charm. Although she survived the sharp guillotine of the French Revolution with her head and smile still perfectly in tact, Mona Lisa painfully endured through some dark days that were brought upon her by her fans. On August 22, 1911 it was discovered that she had been kidnapped. The world thought they would never see her and her smile again. Luckily, two years later she was found and returned back to her home at the Louvre. Years after her notorious kidnapping, she was doused in acid by a vandal, causing her to lose some of her pigment. As if that wasn’t enough pain and heartache, that same year she was hit by a rock that was thrown at her, causing major damage to her then 400 year old body. Through all the good and bad times Mona Lisa still kept her mysterious, unreadable smile. Millions and millions of people continue to analyze her face every day of the year, reflect upon her gaze, and try to figure out what she might have been thinking and feeling. One wonders if she would have preferred to return to the kidnapper’s apartment, remaining anonymous and escaping the world wide scrutiny. One can only imagine the thoughts that were swirling in her head, beyond her eyes and smile. It is a true mystery with answers that will never be revealed. Who knows if she was even a she? Only Leonardo da Vinci himself knows the answer to the story and true identity of the Real Mona Lisa… The Mona Lisa Project is a picture storybook tribute to Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting. It is an artistic celebration of the iconic and influential role the masterpiece has played in our pop culture society since its conception over 500 years ago. Modern and retrospective female figures were photographed in various versions of the Mona Lisa pose, coupled with short stories and uniquely designed frames. “I have had a life long fascination with the Mona Lisa and wanted to explore the pose, composition, and the iconic expression through photography, humor, and history--and in a sense, bring that enigmatic smile into the twenty first century for new generations to discover." - Val Patterson Creator + Photographer of The Mona Lisa Project |
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