Art Comparison
Art Function Scavenger Hunt Connections: Mona Lisa by Michaelangelo Buonarrati and Seated Woman by Pablo Picasso Mona Lisa , 1503 – 1506 Leonardo Davinci Female Head , 1902 - 1903 Pablo Picasso Hyperlink to picture “Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. The work is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. [1] The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose expression is often described as enigmatic. [2][3] The ambiguity of the sitter's expression, the monumentality of the half-figure composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the painting's continuing fascination. [1] Few other works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody. [4]” Mona Lisa is named for Lisa del Giocondo,[8][9][10] a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. [7] The painting was commissioned for their new home and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. In a June 2006 interview for Smithsonian magazine, famed American painter Andrew Wyeth quipped that he pretty much does his own thing and doesn’t copy other artists’ styles much. However, he conceded to being greatly influenced by the watercolors of 16th Century artist Albrecht Durer. He mentioned Durer’s painting of a rabbit (Adams, 2006).