TOK research
Mona Lisa Painting
Main historical background:
- Mona Lisa, also called Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo,
Italian La Gioconda, or French La Joconde, is the world’s most old painting that is created by
Leonardo Da Vinci between 1503 and 1519 when Leonardo was living in Florence, and till
this day, the painting now still hangs in the Louvre Museum, in Paris since the 19 th century
More historical background:
- In 1911, the painting was stolen, causing an immediate media sensation. People
flocked to the Louvre to view the empty space where the painting had once hung, the
museum’s director of paintings resigned, and the poet Guillame Apollinaire and artist Pablo
Picasso were even arrested as suspects. Two years later an art dealer in Florence alerted
local authorities that a man had tried to sell him the painting and found the painting hidden
by an Italian immigrant named Vincenzo Peruggia below a trunk and was imprisoned. Later
on, the painting is return back to the Louvre Museum from Italy.
- During World War II, the Mona Lisa, singled out as the most-endangered artwork in
the Louvre, was evacuated to various locations in France’s countryside, returning to the
museum in 1945 after peace had been declared.
What’s unique about the painting?(main claim)
- The smile of the figure of Mona Lisa, which caused debates between people and
artists around the world, where there are many meanings behind that smile, where
they claimed that Mona Lisa had bad historical background and the smile is fake or
made-up or some thought is already genuine smile so in this case, there are certain
claims including historical events, which considered as the following:
Certain historical cases/ claims:
- Genuine smile claim:
- In 2017,a study published in the journal Scientific Reports proclaimed that the
mona lisa’s smile is genuine happiness, according to study subjects who compared it
to subtle facial expressions.
- Fake smile claim:
- There was a new study where the smile of Mona Lisa is non- Genuine or Fake
based on neuroscience journal Courtex where three neuroscience and cognition
researchers look on the asymmetry of Mona Lisa’s smile, and note that upper part of
her face doesn’t appear to be active , which stated the smile as “none- genuine” but
there are other claims stated from the researchers that it is unlikely for a person to
sit motionless constantly smiling for hours to be painted, which gives a theory that
Mona Lisa’s smile is the manisfation of an ‘ untrue enjoyment’ despite Leonardo’s
effort to keep his audience feel cheery.
- Another claim argued by reseachers is that Leonardo do it intentionally of the fake
smile and stated that he is a great observer of human anatomy and physiology and
understood deeply of the asymmetry and details of the face including the smile.
-Authors and historical theorist stated another claim of Mona Lisa’s dark past, where
she was pushed married to a slave trader named “Francesco del Giocondo” at just
15, which contributed to the fake smile.
- Conclusion: Researchers concluded that Mona Lisa’s smile continue to attract
attention of observers, and the true message remain abstruse or elusive.
How do the ‘Mona Lisa’ influence the modern days?
-The influence of the Mona Lisa on the Renaissance and later times has been enormous,
revolutionizing contemporary portrait painting.
-Not only did the three-quarter pose become the standard, but also Leonardo’s preliminary
drawings encouraged other artists to make more and freer studies for their paintings and
stimulated connoisseurs to collect those drawings.
-Through the drawings, his Milanese works were made known to the Florentines. Also, his
reputation and stature as an artist and thinker spread to his fellow artists and assured for
them a freedom of action and thought similar to his own.
Bibliography and resources:
-Karlis, Nicole. “Cognitive Scientists Say Mona Lisa's Smile Was Not Genuine.” Salon,
Salon.com, 4 June 2019, www.salon.com/2019/06/03/cognitive-scientists-say-mona-lisas-
smile-was-not-genuine/.
-“The Mona Lisa and Its Influence.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting/The-Mona-Lisa-and-its-influence.
- Farrell, Jeff. “The Dark Slavery Secret behind Mona Lisa's Sad Smile.” The
Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 29 Aug. 2017,
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/world-history/mona-lisa-gherardini-book-people-and-
the-painting-martin-kemp-and-giuseppe-pallanti-florence-a7916991.html.
Mona Lisa’s image:
https://www.thoughtco.com/mona-lisa-stolen-1779626
