La Gioconda.

Painting card:

-Title: La Gioconda or Mona Lisa.

-Author: Leonardo da Vinci.

-Year: 1503-1519.

-Style: Italian Renaissance.

-Technique: Oil on wood.
-Location: Louvre Museum.

-General description: It is a portrait of a woman. This woman did not have eyebrowns and eyelashes.

She wore a veil on her head. The painter used lights and shadows for giving volume.

INTRODUCTION

The Mona Lisa was made by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist,a writer, an inventor and a philosofer who was born in Florence in the 15th century. Another important painting of da Vinci was the Vitruvio's man. This painting belonged to Cinquecento (of the Renaissance). In this period painting and sculpture reflected the new mentality and the characteristics of style were: idealism and serenity (the artists tried to reflect reality), representation of the human body and the search for balance and proportion (they often used a pyramidal composition).

ANALYSIS

The oil technique was used and it was painted in wood. The painting was one of the first portraits to depict the sitter in front of an imaginary landscape, and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. It is the best example of sfumato technique. Da Vinci used lights and shadows for giving depth to the painting. The colors are mainly bluish and trasparent, increasing the depth and volume. It is a pyramidal composition because the body is placed from top to bottom in a pyramidal shape. The subject matter is a portrait (in this period the Italian painters were interested in the anatomy of the human body). It is a realistic portrait. The woman has an enigmatic smile.

There is controversy about the identity of the woman: the most accepted theory is that she was the wife of Francesco de Giocondo, whose name was Lisa Gheraldini. Another theory is that she was da Vinci's mother; she came from the Orient and she could be a slave. It is supported in the landscape and in the characteristics of the face (the face has Chinese aspects). Other theories also sais that she was the love of Leonardo or even, him.

CONCLUSION

La Gioconda has become one of the most famous portraits of feminine beauty.

The Renaissance was influenced by the Classical Greek and Roman Culture.

Another important artists of this period were Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio and Giorgione.

Some important sculptures and paintings of this time were: The piety, The Birth of Venus and The School of Athens.

I like the painting because it gives me a strange sense and it is beautiful.