Monna Lisa: descrizione

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Descrizione in inglese della Gioconda (la Monna Lisa) di Leonardo da Vinci (3 pagine formato doc)


Enghish for cutlural heritage. The Mona Lisa (Unit 4).

Parte Prima. The Mona Lisa (also known as “La Gioconda”) is without doubt the most famous work in the entire of forty-thousand-year history of the visual arts. It provokes many outstanding thoughts on every continent from Asia to America and it reduces the Venus of Milo and the Sistine Chapel to an elementary level. The Mona Lisa, which can be considered an unsolved international murder mystery, was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous personality of Renaissance.

In his studio in Florence he realized a painting which is actually a site for pilgrimages. In the middle of 16th century the Mona Lisa was being pronounced as an interesting work on human perfection which supported romantic religiosity with eroticism and rhetoric.

La Gioconda: descrizione e significato


Based on the mid-sixteen century biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari, who wrote an interesting literary work called “Le vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti”, many people believe the painting to be a portrait of Madama Lisa Giocondo, wife of an aristocratic Florentine.

Called Mona Lisa from the same Vasari, it was painted for over four years by Leonardo, who carried it with him during his travels and took it away only at his death. Some speculate that the Mona Lisa may be a portrait of Isabella d’Este, who was at Mantua during Leonardo’s stay, while others thinks that is not a portrait of one woman but a composite based on Leonardo’s theory of womanhood.

La Gioconda: descrizione


“La Gioconda” was painted in oils on a wooden unsigned and undated panels. Probably it belongs to 1506. It is simply dressed and her personality emerges with a slight smile and behind there is a Flemish scenery. It is a two storied structure: below there is a relatively human scenery, with a bridge and a road that winds to brown rocks; above there is a region with two lakes and a mountain range, which can be seen as a part of Italian Alps and Tuscany. According to the rules of aerial perspective, the space of the painting is unsystematic with a lot of vanishing points.
Parte Seconda. The Mona Lisa revolutionised painting trough the pose, which broke with tradition, introducing the waste up which permitted a much more intimate treatment. The pose was imitated immediately by a lot of painters, such as Raffaello Sanzio, while the background is painted in a gradation of lights and colours, losing details in the distance. So, the subject is made with an interesting brilliance. Leonardo also supported that air is denser closest to the earth, in way that the bases of hills will always appear lighter than the summit. He introduced the sfumato’s technique, including it for the corner of Mona Lisa’s mouth and eyes and to create the illusion of volume.