Oh well, yet another mystery bites the dust in this age of desperate demystification. It has been removed from our ever-graying lives that were once filled with enigmas, exciting unknowns that moved our fantasy, and engaged our imagination. Finally, we know who the lady truly was who had such a mesmerizing smile that it inspired one of the greatest geniuses of all time to create such an amazing painting that kept mankind fascinated for centuries. Now we know that the lady's name was Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a Florence merchant. Funny this took so many years and the interventions of Cicero and German scientists to figure out when in Italy the painting has for hundreds of years has been known as 'La Gioconda'.
Of course, as always, there had to be a secret lover as a suspect subject for the painting, then there was the theory that the lady with the smile was supposedly the master's mother. Better yet, there was a theory the painting was actually a symbolic representation of Leonardo himself. I have seen various desperate attempts at mapping the facial characteristics of Mona Lisa to those of the only surviving self-portrait of Leonardo. The question was also raised why it would be that Mona Lisa, assuming it was Leonardo himself, looks so much like a woman? Now we know. Because the sitter was a woman. But for those proposing the Leonardo = Mona Lisa theory, this was exactly where the magic of symbolism would have to come in. One does not have to give evidence if its a symbol, right? Dan Brown to the rescue! She is hiding the ultimate secret: knowldege of the 'Sang Real'.
Then, there were those who tried some kind of facial proportion analysis to figure out what really was making the famous smile so famous. Various theories of asymmetry emerged. There was also supposed to be some clues in the fact that the lady's eyebrows and eyelashes were missing.
To me the good news is, the smile of Mona Lisa, remains just as fascinating as ever. Above all the puzzlement, amazement and all the petty confusion it has caused.
Of course, as always, there had to be a secret lover as a suspect subject for the painting, then there was the theory that the lady with the smile was supposedly the master's mother. Better yet, there was a theory the painting was actually a symbolic representation of Leonardo himself. I have seen various desperate attempts at mapping the facial characteristics of Mona Lisa to those of the only surviving self-portrait of Leonardo. The question was also raised why it would be that Mona Lisa, assuming it was Leonardo himself, looks so much like a woman? Now we know. Because the sitter was a woman. But for those proposing the Leonardo = Mona Lisa theory, this was exactly where the magic of symbolism would have to come in. One does not have to give evidence if its a symbol, right? Dan Brown to the rescue! She is hiding the ultimate secret: knowldege of the 'Sang Real'.
Then, there were those who tried some kind of facial proportion analysis to figure out what really was making the famous smile so famous. Various theories of asymmetry emerged. There was also supposed to be some clues in the fact that the lady's eyebrows and eyelashes were missing.
To me the good news is, the smile of Mona Lisa, remains just as fascinating as ever. Above all the puzzlement, amazement and all the petty confusion it has caused.
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. (Cicero)
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