French researcher and consultant to the Center for the Study of Leonardo da Vinci in Los Angeles, Jean Frank, recently announced that he was able to repeat the unique technique of the great master, thanks to which Mona Lisa seems alive.

"From a technical point of view, the Mona Lisa has always been considered something inexplicable. Now I think I have the answer to this question," says Frank.

Reference: Sfumato technique is a painting technique invented by Leonardo da Vinci. The point is that objects in the paintings should not have clear boundaries. Everything should be like in life: blurred, penetrate one into another, breathe. Da Vinci practiced this technique by looking at damp stains on walls, ash, clouds or dirt. He specially fumigate the room where he worked with smoke in order to look for images in clubs.

According to Jean Frank, the main difficulty of this technique lies in the smallest strokes (about a quarter of a millimeter), which cannot be recognized either under a microscope or using X-rays. Thus, it took several hundred sessions to paint Da Vinci's painting. The image of Mona Lisa consists of approximately 30 layers of liquid, almost transparent oil paint. For such jewelry work, da Vinci apparently had to use a magnifying glass at the same time as a brush.
According to the researcher, he managed to achieve only the level of the master’s early works. However, his research has already received the honor of being located next to the paintings of the great Leonardo da Vinci. The Uffizi Museum in Florence placed next to the master’s masterpieces 6 tables by Franck, which describe step by step how da Vinci painted the eye of the Mona Lisa, and two paintings by Leonardo that he recreated.

It is known that the composition of the Mona Lisa is built on “golden triangles”. These triangles in turn are pieces of a regular star pentagon. But researchers do not see any secret meanings in this; they are rather inclined to explain the expressiveness of Mona Lisa by the technique of spatial perspective.

Da Vinci was one of the first to use this technique; he made the background of the picture unclear, slightly clouded, thereby increasing the emphasis on the outlines of the foreground.

Gioconda's clues

Unique techniques allowed da Vinci to create such a vivid portrait of a woman that people, looking at him, perceive her feelings differently. Is she sad or smiling? Scientists managed to solve this mystery. The Urbana-Champaign computer program, created by scientists from the Netherlands and the USA, made it possible to calculate that Mona Lisa's smile is 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% full of fear and 2% angry. The program analyzed the main facial features, the curve of the lips and wrinkles around the eyes, and then rated the face according to six main groups of emotions.

"Mona Lisa"- a portrait of a young woman, the painting is one of the most famous works of painting in the world. Belongs to the Renaissance. Exhibited at the Louvre (Paris, France).

The full title of the painting is Portrait of Lady Lisa del Giocondo.

Who is the author of the Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa description of the painting

The Mona Lisa painting cannot be described in words: the longer you look at it, the more captivated you become.

Like many paintings of that period, this portrait did not escape the ravages of time at the hands of inept restorers. But despite all this, he has not lost his special beauty and charm, and his beautiful face still radiates a calm and bewitching smile.

The dimensions of the Mona Lisa painting are only 30 inches in height.

The Mona Lisa is shown seated on a low folding chair; her body is turned to the left, her right hand resting on her left forearm. The face is facing the viewer at a slight angle, while the brown eyes look straight at you.

Brown hair, parted in the middle and combed smoothly to the temples, falls in beautiful soft curls to the shoulders. A transparent veil is draped over the head and curls over the shoulders. The dress, originally a greenish color with a plunging neckline, is enlivened by lighter sleeves that must once have been yellow.

In the background is a fantastic landscape with hills and mountains, warm and soft colors, receding into the distance, with a gradually brightening sky above it. The two columns at the edges of the landscape are covered by the current picture frame. All the details in this painting are beautiful, but what grabs your attention first of all is the face.

The famous Italian architect and historian Vasari, who lived in that brilliant era, wrote about the Mona Lisa:

“Leonardo agreed to paint a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, for Francesco del Giocondo. He wrote it for four years and then left it unfinished. Now this painting is owned by the French King Francis. Anyone who wants to see how close art can come to a natural original should take a close look at this beautiful head.

All its details are executed with the greatest diligence. The eyes have the same shine and are just as moisturized as in life. Around them we see faint reddish-blue circles, and the eyelashes could only have been painted with a very skillful brush. You can notice where the eyebrows are wider and where they become thinner, emerging from the pores of the skin and rounding downwards. Everything is as natural as it can be portrayed. Small, beautifully carved nostrils, pinkish and delicate, executed with the greatest truth. The mouth, the corners of the lips, where the pink tint turns into the natural, vibrant complexion, are written so perfectly that they seem not drawn, but as if living flesh and blood.

Anyone who looks closely at the hollow in the neck begins to think that he is about to be able to see the pulse beating. Indeed, this portrait is painted so perfectly that it makes any established artist, and indeed anyone who looks at it, tremble with excitement.

The Mona Lisa was immensely beautiful, and Leonardo always invited someone to her sessions who could act and sing or joke, so that her face would not look tired or dull, which often happens when posing for a portrait.

On the contrary, a most charming smile plays on this face, and it seems that it is the creation of Heaven, and not of human hands, and what is most surprising is that it is full of life.”

These are the words of Vasari, which have great significance and authenticity, because in his time the canvas was in excellent condition.

Who is depicted in the Mona Lisa painting?

Mona Lisa was 24 years old when her portrait began to be created in 1503, and Leonardo was then 51 years old. The painting was never completed and remained with Leonardo, and later passed to Francis I, King of France.

Many would give anything to own this painting. One of these people was the Duke of Buckingham. This later led to the dramatic story of the theft of a painting from the Louvre and its subsequent return.

Being the highest point, the pinnacle of Leonardo's creativity, this painting is, as it were, a crystallization of his genius, innermost thoughts and inspiration.

Very little is known about the Mona Lisa, except for a few minor facts, and therefore it is difficult to answer a very important question, often asked and discussed: was she just a beautiful model for Leonardo or was she his muse and even his love, as many would like to believe .

There are some facts confirming the correctness of the last assumption, and this may explain the special magic of the picture. But whatever the truth, what a remarkable person she must have been to bring out the best in this giant of the Renaissance! She helped this genius leave to his descendants a unique masterpiece that has inspired thousands and thousands of people over the centuries.

The enormous influence of the people around them on artists is all too well known, even if these people themselves remained in the shadows. The interaction between the personalities of the model and the artist, especially if they are connected by mutual sympathy and attraction, often leads to the creation of masterpieces.

In this case, the Mona Lisa was given the power to awaken such inspiration in Leonardo that he created one of the most beautiful treasures in the world. The immortal aura surrounding all the creations of this greatest genius is confirmed by his own words: “If a person is virtuous, do not drive him away, but honor him, so that he has no reason to leave you. If you meet such people, honor them, since they are Gods on this Earth and deserve the same worship as sacred statues and images.”

Perhaps no painting in history causes as much heated debate as Leonardo da Vinci’s “La Gioconda.” Scientists, art critics and historians are struggling with the mystery of who is depicted in the painting - some kind of woman or is it a veiled self-portrait of Leonardo? But most of all, her mysterious smile raises questions. The woman seems to be hiding something from the audience and at the same time mocking them.

It got to the point that doctors began to examine the picture and rendered a verdict: the woman depicted in the picture is sick with such and such diseases, which cause facial contractions mistaken for a smile. Tons of books have been written on the topic of La Gioconda, hundreds of documentaries and feature films have been shot, and thousands of scientific and research articles have been published.

In order to understand the mystery of the painting, first let’s talk a little about Leonardo himself. Nature has never known geniuses like Leonardo either before or since. Two opposing, mutually exclusive views of the world combined in him with some incredible ease. Scientist and painter, naturalist and philosopher, mechanic and astronomer... In a word, physicist and lyricist in one bottle.

The mystery of La Gioconda was solved only in the 20th century, and then only partially. When painting, Leonardo used the sfumato technique, based on the principle of dispersion, the absence of clear boundaries between objects. This technique was one way or another mastered by his contemporaries, but he surpassed everyone. And Mona Lisa's shimmering smile is the result of this technique. Thanks to the soft range of tones that smoothly flow from one to another, the viewer, depending on the focus of the gaze, gets the impression that she is either smiling tenderly or grinning arrogantly.

It turns out that the mystery of the painting has been solved? Not at all! After all, there is another mysterious moment associated with La Gioconda; the painting lives its own life and influences the people around it in an incomprehensible way. And this mystical influence was noticed a very, very long time ago.

First of all, the painter himself suffered. He had never worked on any of his works for such a long time! But this was a regular order. For four long years, spending, according to estimates, at least 10,000 hours, with a magnifying glass in hand, Leonardo created his masterpiece, applying strokes measuring 1/20-1/40 mm. Only Leonardo was capable of this - this is hard labor, the work of an obsessed person. Especially when you consider the dimensions: only 54x79 cm!

While working on La Gioconda, Leonardo suffered severe health problems. Possessing almost incredible vitality, he practically lost it by the time the picture was completed. By the way, this most perfect and mysterious work of his remained unfinished. In principle, da Vinci always gravitated toward incompleteness. In this he saw a manifestation of divine harmony and, perhaps, he was absolutely right. After all, history knows many examples of how the desperate desire to finish what was started became the cause of the most incredible cases.

However, he took this particular work of his with him everywhere and did not part with it for a moment. And she kept sucking and sucking the strength out of him... As a result, within three years after stopping work on the painting, the artist began to grow decrepit very quickly and died.

Misfortunes and misfortunes also haunted those who were in one way or another connected with the painting. According to one version, the painting depicts a real woman, and not a figment of the imagination: Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant. She posed for the artist for four years, and then died very quickly - at the age of twenty-eight. Her husband did not live very long after the wedding; lover Giuliano de' Medici soon died of consumption; his illegitimate son from La Gioconda was poisoned.

John the Baptist in another painting by Leonardo is very feminine and his facial features resemble those of Mona Lisa

The mystical influence of the picture did not stop there: historians dispassionately state more and more new facts of its paranormal influence on people. The servants of the Louvre, the museum where the masterpiece is kept, were among the first to note this. They have long ceased to be surprised by the frequent fainting that happens to visitors near this painting, and note that if there is a long break in the museum’s work, “La Gioconda” seems to “darken its face,” but as soon as visitors fill the halls of the museum again and give her a portion of admiring glances It’s like the Mona Lisa comes to life, rich colors appear, the background brightens, the smile is more clearly visible. Well, how can you not believe in energy vampirism?

The fact that a painting has an incomprehensible effect on those who look at it for a long time was noted back in the 19th century. Stendhal, who himself, after admiring her for a long time, fainted. To date, there have been more than a hundred such documented fainting episodes. I immediately remember Leonardo himself, who spent hours looking at his painting, eager to finish something in it, to redo it... His hand was already trembling, and his legs were almost unable to be used, and he still sat near the “La Gioconda”, not noticing how she was carrying away his strength. By the way, Leonardo also had fainting near the La Gioconda.

It is no secret that the picture not only delights, but also frightens people - and there are not much fewer frightened people than admired ones. Most often, children frankly do not like the picture. Children are more finely organized beings and feel the world more at the level of emotions and intuition. They are not confused by the general opinion that La Gioconda is a masterpiece, and it is customary to admire it.

They are the ones who most often ask the question: what is there to admire? Some kind of evil aunt, ugly at the same time... And, probably not without reason, there is such a joke, which was once repeated by Faina Ranevskaya: “Gioconda has lived in the world for so long that she already chooses who she likes and who she doesn’t.” ". About not a single painting in the history of mankind would it even occur to anyone to say, even jokingly, that the painting itself chooses whom to make what impression on.

Even copies or reproductions of Leonardo’s masterpiece have a surprising effect on people. Researchers of the paranormal influence of paintings on people have long noted that if a family hangs a reproduction of Ilya Repin’s “Ivan the Terrible Kills His Son,” a copy of Bryullov’s masterpiece “The Death of Pompeii,” a number of other reproductions, including “La Gioconda,” in that family Unexplained illnesses, depression, and loss of strength occur much more often. Very often such families get divorced.

Thus, there is a known case when a woman came to Georgy Kostomarsky, a well-known St. Petersburg psychic and researcher of the paranormal influence of paintings, with the desire to somehow save her family, which was on the verge of collapse. Kostomarsky asked if there was a reproduction of “La Gioconda” in the house? And when I received an affirmative answer, I strongly recommended that the reproduction be removed. You may not believe it, but the family was saved: the woman did not just throw away the reproduction - she burned it.

WITH leaving a self-portrait of Leonardo and Gioconda. Almost one to one.

Many researchers could not help but wonder: what is the secret of such a negative influence of the painting on living people? There are many versions. Almost all researchers agree that Leonardo’s colossal energy is “to blame” for everything. He spent too much effort and nerves on this picture. Especially if the fate of the latest research on the topic of who is actually depicted.

According to Top News, Italian art critic Silvano Vinceti, one of the most famous Mona Lisa researchers, has proven that da Vinci painted the painting from a man. Vinceti claims that in the eyes of "Gioconda" he discovered the letters L and S, which are the first letters of the names "Leonardo" and "Salai". Salai was Leonardo's apprentice for twenty years and, according to many historians, his lover.

So what, the skeptics will ask? If there is a version that “La Gioconda” is a self-portrait of da Vinci, why shouldn’t it be a portrait of a young man? What is the mysticism here? Yes, everything is in the same crazy energy of Leonardo! Homosexual relations not only now outrage normal society, it was exactly the same during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci suffered from a lack of understanding of society, so he “transformed” a man into a woman.

It is not for nothing that artists are often called “creators,” alluding to the Almighty Creator. The Lord God created people, the artist also creates them in his own way. If it’s just an artist, without Leonardo’s colossal talent, without his energetic power, you end up with just portraits. If there is an energy message of incredible strength, the result is very mysterious works that can somehow influence the viewer with their energy.
In the case of Salai, we have a desire not only to somehow legalize the young man, but also an attempt to generally go against human nature: to turn a young man into a girl. Why not gender reassignment surgery? It is quite logical that this act of creation, contrary to Divine and human nature, has the consequences described above.

According to another version, da Vinci, being a member of a secret esoteric sect, tried to find a balance between the masculine and feminine principles. He believed that a person’s soul can be considered enlightened only when both principles coexist happily in it. And he created “La Gioconda” - neither a man nor a woman. It combines opposite properties. But, apparently, it somehow doesn’t connect well, and that’s why there’s a negative influence...

The third version says that it’s all about the personality of the model named Pacifica Brandano, who was an energy vampire. The leakage of vital energy at the initial stage causes apathy and weakened immunity in the victim of energy aggression, and then leads to severe health problems.
So, it is very likely that Pacifica was just such a person, an absorber of the vital energy of other people. Therefore, with short-term contact of a person with paintings depicting energy vampires, a manifestation of Stendhal syndrome may occur, and with prolonged contact, more unpleasant consequences may occur.

"La Gioconda" contains the quintessence of the great master's achievements on the path of approaching reality. These are the results of his anatomical research, which allowed him to depict people and animals in completely natural poses, this is the famous sfumato, this is the perfect use of chiaroscuro, this is a mysterious smile, this is the careful preparation of a special ground for each part of the picture, this is an unusually subtle elaboration details. And the fact that the picture was painted on a poplar board, and poplar is a vampire tree, may also play a certain role.

And, finally, the most important thing is the correct transfer of the intangible, or more precisely, the subtle-material essence of the painting object. With his extraordinary talent, Leonardo created a truly living creation, giving a long life, continuing to this day, to Pacifica with all its characteristic features. And this creation, like Frankenstein’s creation, destroyed and outlived its creator.
So if “La Gioconda” can bring evil to people trying to penetrate its meaning, then perhaps it is necessary to destroy all reproductions and the original itself? But this would be an act of crime against humanity, especially since there are many paintings with a similar effect on humans in the world.

You just need to know about the peculiarities of such paintings (and not only paintings) and take appropriate measures, for example, limit their reproduction, warn visitors in museums with such works and be able to provide them with medical assistance, etc. Well, if you have reproductions of La Gioconda and you think that they have a bad influence on you, put them away or burn them.

Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa or Gioconda

1503-1505. Louvre Museum, Paris. Renaissance.

Painting by Leonardo da Vinci “Mona Lisa” or “La Gioconda”. Painting size 77 x 53 cm, wood, oil. Around 1503, Leonardo began work on a portrait of Mona Lisa, the wife of the wealthy Florentine Francesco Giocondo. This work, known to the common public under the name “La Gioconda,” received enthusiastic praise from its contemporaries. The fame of the painting was so great that legends subsequently formed around it. A huge literature is devoted to it, most of which is far from an objective assessment of Leonard’s creation. It is impossible not to admit that this work, as one of the few monuments of world art, truly has enormous attractive power. But this feature of the picture is not connected with the embodiment of some mysterious principle or with other similar inventions, but is born of its amazing artistic depth. Leonardo da Vinci's portrait "Mona Lisa" is a decisive step towards the development of Renaissance portrait art. Although the Quattrocento painters left a number of significant works of this genre, their achievements in portraiture were, so to speak, disproportionate to the achievements in the main painting genres - in compositions on religious and mythological themes. The inequality of the portrait genre was already reflected in the very “iconography” of portrait images. The actual portrait works of the 15th century, for all their undeniable physiognomic similarity and the feeling of inner strength they radiated, were also distinguished by external and internal constraint. All the wealth of human feelings and experiences that characterizes the biblical and mythological images of 15th century painters was usually not the property of their portrait works. Echoes of this can be seen in the earlier portraits of Leonardo da Vinci, created by him in the first years of his stay in Milan. These are the "Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine" (circa 1483; Krakow, National Museum), depicting Cecilia Gallearani, lover of Lodovico Moro, and a portrait of a musician (circa 1485; Milan, Ambrosian Library). In comparison, the portrait of Mona Lisa is perceived as the result of a gigantic qualitative shift. For the first time, the portrait image in its significance became on a par with the most striking images of other pictorial genres. Mona Lisa is represented sitting in a chair against the backdrop of a landscape, and the very juxtaposition of her figure, very close to the viewer, with the landscape visible from afar, as if from a huge mountain, imparts extraordinary grandeur to the image. The same impression is promoted by the contrast of the heightened plastic tactility of the figure and its smooth generalized silhouette with a vision-like landscape stretching into the foggy distance with bizarre rocks and water channels winding among them. But first of all, we are attracted by the appearance of Mona Lisa herself - her unusual gaze, as if inextricably following the viewer, radiating intelligence and will, and a subtle smile, the meaning of which seems to elude us - this elusiveness brings into the image a shade of inexhaustibility and endless richness. There are few portraits in all of world art that are equal to the painting “Mona Lisa” in terms of the power of expression of the human personality, embodied in the unity of character and intellect. It is the extraordinary intellectual charge of Leonardo's portrait that distinguishes it from the portrait images of the Quattrocento. This feature of his is perceived all the more acutely because it relates to a female portrait, in which the character of the model was previously revealed in a completely different, predominantly lyrical, figurative tonality. The feeling of strength emanating from the painting “Mona Lisa” is an organic combination of internal composure and a sense of personal freedom, the spiritual harmony of a person, based on his consciousness of his own significance. And her smile itself does not at all express superiority or disdain; it is perceived as the result of calm self-confidence and complete self-control. But the painting of Mona Lisa embodies not only a rational principle - her image is filled with high poetry, which we feel both in her elusive smile and in the mystery of the semi-fantastic landscape unfolding behind her. Contemporaries admired the striking similarity and extraordinary vitality of the portrait achieved by the artist. But its meaning is much broader: the great painter Leonardo da Vinci was able to introduce into the image that degree of generalization that allows us to consider it as an image of the Renaissance man as a whole. The sense of generalization is reflected in all the elements of the pictorial language of the painting, in its individual motifs - in the way the light transparent veil, covering the head and shoulders of Mona Lisa, unites carefully drawn strands of hair and small folds of the dress into an overall smooth outline; this feeling is in the incomparable softness of the modeling of the face (on which, according to the fashion of that time, the eyebrows were removed) and beautiful, sleek hands. This modeling evokes such a strong impression of living physicality that Vasari wrote that one could see the pulse beating in the hollow of Mona Lisa’s neck. One of the means of such subtle plastic nuances was Leonard’s characteristic “sfumato” - a subtle haze enveloping the face and figure, softening the contours and shadows. For this purpose, Leonardo da Vinci recommends placing, as he puts it, “a kind of fog” between the light source and the bodies. The primacy of the light and shadow modeling is also felt in the subordinate coloring of the picture. Like many of Leonardo da Vinci's works, this painting has darkened over time and its color relationships have changed somewhat, but even now the thoughtful juxtapositions in the tones of carnation and clothing and their overall contrast with the bluish-green, “underwater” tone of the landscape are clearly perceived.

Analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's work of art "Mona Lisa"

Analysis of a work of art from the Renaissance by Leonardo da Vinci “Mona Lisa” or “La Gioconda”

Leonardo da Vinci began work on the portrait of the Mona Lisa around 1503 and continued to paint it until 1507.

This work was a decisive step towards the development of Renaissance portrait art. Before this, the achievements of painters in portraiture were inferior to the achievements of such basic genres as compositions on religious and mythological themes. All the wealth of human feelings and experiences that was present in biblical images was not reflected in portrait works.

Mona Lisa is presented sitting in a chair against the backdrop of a landscape; the image is given extraordinary grandeur by the comparison of her figure very close to the viewer with the landscape visible from afar, like a huge mountain. The plastic tactility of the figure contrasts with its smoothly generalized silhouette with a bizarre landscape receding into the foggy distance. But first of all, one is attracted by the image of Mona Lisa herself - her bewitching gaze, as if constantly following the audience, radiating intelligence and will, and a subtle smile, giving the picture sublime poetry. The meaning of this smile remains a mystery to us to this day. A light transparent veil, covering the head and shoulders of Mona Lisa, combines carefully inscribed strands of hair and small folds of the dress into an overall smooth contour, which creates a very delicate and soft modeling of the face. One of the means of such subtle nuance was Leonard’s characteristic “sfumato” - a subtle haze enveloping the face and figure, softening the contours and shadows.

The famous Italian architect and historian Vasari, who lived in that brilliant era, wrote about the Mona Lisa: “Leonardo agreed to paint for Francesco del Giocondo a portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife. He wrote it for four years and then left it unfinished. Now this painting is owned by the French King Francis. Anyone who wants to know how close art can come to a natural original should carefully consider this beautiful head.

All its details are executed with the greatest diligence. The eyes have the same shine and are just as moisturized as in life. Around them we see faint reddish-blue circles, and the eyelashes could only have been painted with a very skillful brush. You can notice where the eyebrows are wider and where they become thinner, emerging from the pores of the skin and rounding downwards. Everything is as natural as it can be portrayed. Small, beautifully carved nostrils, pinkish and delicate, executed with the greatest truth. The mouth, the corners of the lips, where the pink tint turns into the natural, vibrant complexion, are written so perfectly that they seem not drawn, but as if living flesh and blood.

Anyone who looks closely at the hollow in the neck begins to think that he is about to be able to see the pulse beating. Indeed, this portrait is painted so perfectly that it makes any established artist, and indeed anyone who looks at it, tremble with excitement.”

In the assessment that Vasari gives to La Gioconda, there is a significant gradation filled with deep meaning: everything is exactly like in reality, but looking at this reality, you experience the highest pleasure, and it seems that life itself cannot be different. In other words: reality that acquires a certain new quality in beauty, more perfect than that which usually reaches our consciousness, beauty that is the creation of an artist who completes the work of nature. And, enjoying this beauty, you perceive the visible world in a new way, so that you believe: it should no longer, cannot be different. The feeling of strength emanating from the painting “Mona Lisa” is a harmonious combination of internal composure and a sense of personal freedom. The great painter Leonardo da Vinci managed to introduce into the image that degree of generalization that allows us to consider it as an image of a Renaissance man. This is the magic of the great realistic art of the High Renaissance. It is not for nothing that Leonardo worked for so long on La Gioconda in his desire to achieve “perfection over perfection,” and it seems that he achieved this.

In the twentieth century, the painting almost never left the Louvre, visiting the USA in 1963 and Japan in 1974. On the way from Japan to France, the painting was exhibited at the Museum. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow. The trips only cemented the success and fame of the film.

Today, the Mona Lisa is in the Louvre, but unfortunately it was decided that it will no longer be given to exhibitions due to its poor condition.

Gioconda portrait renaissance religious