Da Vinci Tricked Everyone With A Secret Illusion
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- Опубликовано: 27 дек 2024
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Have you ever looked at the Mona Lisa and wondered why she’s so famous? 8 million people go to the Louvre every year just to see the Mona Lisa. But once they arrive, they only spend about 15 seconds actually looking at her. Which begs the question: Is the Mona Lisa REALLY worth the hype?
In 1503, Leonardo da Vinci was approached by a wealthy silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo to paint a portrait of his 24-year old wife, Lisa. What started as a run-of-the-mill portrait turned into Leonardo da Vinci’s magnum opus. A masterpiece the artist would continue working on until his death. A painting he would never part with.
The story of how the Mona Lisa became the most famous painting in the world is a messy one. In 1911, she was stolen from the Louvre by a man named Vincenzo Peruggia who falsely believed France possessed the painting because Napoleon Bonaparte stole it from Italy. The world was fascinated by the theft and it became a national scandal seemingly overnight. This event undoubtedly accelerated the Mona Lisa’s rise to fame.
That being said, if there were an alternate reality where the Mona Lisa was never stolen, I believe she would still be famous. The Mona Lisa had many admirers before the heist and she was created by one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived. In addition. Leonardo da Vinci used many innovative techniques to create the Mona Lisa. I think there’s a good chance Leonardo knew this was his greatest masterpiece and that’s why he never let her go. Thanks for watching!
#arthistory #monalisa #leonardodavinci #classicart #fineart #art
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This is why we should appreciate being able to see high resolution images so easily online. I could definitely see how in person it’s disappointing, standing in a crowd of people with only a few moments to look. Also the size, and how far you have to stand away.
Totally agree. I think people think she's a lot bigger than she actually is and feel underwhelmed when they see her in person 🤨
I saw it at one of the Smithsonian museums in DC about 20 yrs ago...it was small, secured behind glass and surrounded by a stifling crowd...too much hype. I never saw the smile until Art Deco explain it.
@@Art_Deco i have a nice scale replica, see it every morning above the toilet 😅Really truly love your videos by the way, I’ve learned a lot and they’re entertaining
But it's a good lesson in life isn't it? 😂 There are so many things in life we expect to be amazing until we see reality and realise it's not like we expected it. It's still wonderful (as the painting definitely is) but not as we expected it.
When I went to the louvre it was so crowded that you could barely see her without elbowing your way to the front. Instead it makes a lot more sense to just go see all the other amazing artwork in the museum that you can actually enjoy in peace
“She can be whatever you want her to be” This is the heart of the painting. I've had people tell me they love her because she's so delicate, demure and modest with a shy smile. I've also had people say they love her for her boldness, challenging eye contact, strength and mocking smirk. The only thing everyone seems to agree on is that she appears to be wanting to say something to the viewer but choosing not to, for reasons only she knows but will never tell.
There was a Nat King Cole song in August, 1950 entitled "Mona Lisa" I remember it still, though I was only 6.
Very demure, very modest
Please never stop making these videos.
There's ENDLESS material so hopefully we'll have many more.
Agreed.
Ikr. She makes it so interesting ❤
?
Not till the end of time itself 😊😊😊😂❤
I'm not surprised people spend so little time seeing it. The painting is so small, and you're only allowed to see it from a distance, even if you're at the front of the group, so you can't really see much. You can see it in more detail through a screen than in person. Not to mention, this painting is everywhere, so seeing it in person is probably a "oh, I guess that's it" moment.
Not that small,, Its twice the size of the average renaissance portrait which makes it unusually large.
I went there and I was able to see it close, but the line was moving along and it seemed rude to not move along. That’s probably why people keep moving. You could easily spent hours there and it’s full of masterpieces.
it's not small. and also you can see it up close you just have to wait 15-20 minutes. you just don't see it for that long because they limit how long you can stand it the front.
To Every Person That’s In The Catholic Church and People That Are In Another Denomination , Jesus Christ Was Crucified In The Timeline Of 30-33Ad and They Said Mary Was On The Earth 11 Years After His Death , Did They Have Cameras 🎥 On Earth Not Even and Da Vinci Paintings Are All Fabricated Fiction Because His Paintings 🖼️ Were In The Timeline 1495-1498. People Didn’t Have Cameras Back Then and Nobody Had Any Negatives 🎞️ From Cameras , Dam You People Don’t Are Sure Gullible 👍😀
Da Vinci was a fascinating character and I highly recommend anyone read up on his actual life. He used to pick out the fugliest people he could find, follow them around all day, then go home and draw their picture. He was a pacifist, but was often contracted to build machines for war because dude's gotta eat. He's defi high on my list of dead people to talk to.
He would be the person I would choose to have dinner with! Thank you for your comment!
I would love to hang out with him and Ben Franklin lol could you imagine?
He's not dead. He's undead. It's hypothetically possible to talk to him but he's stuck up and proud of it. And the Mona Lisa looks like she's moving because she's actually alive. Especially now. The glass pyramid in front of the Louvre endowed her with a consciousness and she's the image of the beast described in Revelations. And Da Vinci still tricks your mind into perceiving the same subject from multiple angles. Boy did he f**k me up that way. He happens to be my great-great-great grandpa by another name, so he actually singled me out and F**KED. ME. UP. It wasn't hard to f**k me up because I'm a low-status female who's invariably attracted to guys who are out of my league. My parents are divorced. It's a daddy issue. In my case that's some serious s**t. I recently watched a video about a rich British guy who got away with murdering his housemaid after he impregnated her. There were a slew of comments by people whose impoverished female ancestors went crazy and had to be institutionalized after their trysts with elite males. Boy were b**ches f**ked up.
I think Da Vinci's mother may indeed have been Chinese. Or rather, he was a native of Atlantis whose mother was from Lemuria. People who can afford a Chinese garden can appreciate the changing perspectives of the Chinese garden--an obvious inspiration for this painting. He's also presently a musician whose songs sometimes have a distinctive Eastern flair. Ne'ertheless he's both a head of the beast from the sea, and the spokesman thereof. He wears many hats and is also a mythical siren whose song lures the unsuspecting to their deaths.
The vampire's wife is also Chinese. So is one of his original bandmates. However he is fundamentally an Aryan male with a few additional Asian-derived talents who believes that the Chinese should join the Roman Empire. Or invade it. You never can quite tell. Again with the eye-crossing sense of perspective he imbues into everything he does.
As he aged, I am sure his genius matured. It became easier and more sure of himself and it culminated in perfection with which he could pretty much amaze himself. As an amateur watercolorist myself, all I can add is that there are those “golden days” which come forth from within that we are effortlessly able to produce art that rises above our own expectations… days when every stroke or line seems to feel like it comes from such a level of perfection that we ourselves are blown away. It is a feeling that comes from a place that is indescribable. Those days are golden. Those are where masterpieces come from , it is like a sudden urge, a propulsion you wake u with and it doesn’t abate until you grab your paints & brushes and release it. Just my own experience! I love this channel and your great insights and finny interjections! I hang on every word! And I can hardly wait until you put forth a new video!!!
I am amazed at what a hot mess my watercolors are until the last fi Islington strokes.😂
This portrait is not about Da Vinci aging and maturing . 🙄
It is what Lincoln called "the Mystic chords of memory". This is obviously a portrait of his mother whom he last saw when he was 5 years old.
What I love about Leonardo is that, aside from being a genius, he was also a chaotic gremlin who loved to get his hands dirty, experiment with new and disgusting foods, and play the stupidest pranks on people. I’d want to be his friend
Actually, that totally tracks with true geniuses.
And I, too, would want to be friends with him lol just for the stupid pranks alone
Sounds like a pretty cool guy
They had us in the first half not gonna lie
can you recommend some good books on him?
I was always curious why people think that "the painting looking at me" is something extremly complicated or magic.
All you have to do is draw the pupils as perfect circles, which is what you see when somebody stares at you.
Take a selfie on your phone looking at the lens.
The picture will "always" look at you, no matter the angle you watch it from.
Same is for trillion of portraits, the thing is not really special :)
Take a close look - she is not looking at the viewer.
I saw the Mona Lisa and was also like 'why is this one so hyped?'
Now I understand. And I absolutely love it. Thank you so so much. I love this channel
I think my favorite thing someone has said about the Mona Lisa is actually from a movie the character after he saw it for the first time ever said 'She laughs at me as if she knows something I do not' I think that encapsulates exactly what the Mona Lisa and her creator was going for.
Ever After?
@@danikajayde8577 Yep. 😁
Great “Ever After” reference
That's a good description of a mom.
I think the disappointment comes from the fact that a lot of us grew up being shown this painting in media, and they always showed it being a large portrait. I'm 40 years old and I have never been to the Louvre. I only learned it wasn't a huge painting maybe 5-6 years ago.
The same with The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. It's not a big statue
I have been to the louvre and seen this painting and it is indeed lacking and disappointing to view. I wasn't struck by it at all.
@@dawn5227 I also went to see it, and simply couldn’t see it. Too dim, too far away. And also always tall people in the crowd step to the front.
I'm the biggest DaVinci fan I've ever know and would Love to see any of his work in real life, but standing like lemmings with a 100 cell phones held in front of everyone's face is not my idea way of seeing any art. I'd rather break at night- alone, take my time with her and share with my new cellmates what I saw than be trapped in a sea of tourist.
It’s actually very small and behind thick bulletproof glass. I was very disappointed when I saw it!
I'm now 92 years old, but I clearly remember seeing the Mona Lisa painting in 1954. There were billions less people then, and I was all alone in the Louve at around closing time. The thing that struck me is that I could feel the ENERGY coming from the Mona Lisa painting. I must have stayed looking at it for half an hour or more, enjoying the good vibes that I was getting back from it. Eventually the one guard who was there alone politely told me it was closing time and I thanked him and left. If anyone is a Frankofile and wants to see Paris in 1954, stop by... 😎
She truly is incredible in person. She doesn't look like a painting but a real woman with full dimension, the light reflecting off her skin, the rounded features of her face changing with each direction that you see her from. Yes, you wait in a winding queue to see her. But if you just SEE her with your eyes and let your phone stay in your pocket, the experience of her in person glory is otherworldly. Totally worth it.
Unfortunately, people today see the world, see things more through the lens of a smartphone than through their own eyes. Not only when going to music concerts or other events, but also when standing in front of a work of art, the greatest work of art in the world such as Mona Lisa.
Ciao from Italy ! 🇮🇹
Hmmm. Not really
“Glory” “otherworldly” wow
The emperor's new clothes are FANTASTIC
I love the art reviews that this lady does ..they are fascinating, funny, whimsical, serious… Only a true art lover could look at a painting and see things with such clarity, depth and diversity.
I consider that the Mona Lisa was "state of the art," lieterally, in it's day.
We consider the first cell phone (brick sized) to be primitive today, but back then they had the "wow factor" of being a very expensive toy, I think.
Today's graphics will likely seem to be so primitive in a couple of decades, let alone hundreds of years from now, IMO.
… I’d like to know what level of resolution we see things with our eyes. Certainly other creatures have better eyesight than we do. I suppose we’re already at the point where we can produce images of greater detail than we can detect with our naked eyes. That was surely come a time where we are and coding visual material so densely that will need special viewers to decode it. There are already people who are making pictures within pictures within pictures that seem to go on and on into infinity. I think some of that is going to happen with virtual reality, goggles… And virtual space on the holodeck, and all of that. It’s just gonna be sad that we are going to spend more more time in the spaces rather than in the beautiful nature that we have inherited and are destroying day by day.
@@JohnnyArtPavlou Long term effects on human vision from modern tech? Lots of food for thought there. It's been said that we are the first species on Earth to have reached the point where we can now replace natural evolution with self-directed evolution. Do we get replaced by AI or become it. "Aye, there's the rub!" IMO.
Is it really?! Have a look at the medieval paintings by Jan van Eyck, it'll shock you how colorful and expressive his portraiture is!
@@costrio The AI is merely another hype, it uses the info of 20 years on the internet, it's all there already. This is the forebode of an improved and rather different computer revolution. Be more CRITICAL of all the hype. The truth is out there and it's coming to you soon.
Nope. This portrait transcends time itself.
How much of this admiration for the painting is because it is socially expected, rather than genuine.
Nearly all. Just show it to people under a different name and see how unimpressed they are.
@@Gorgonzeye Just as I suspected. Thank you.
To me the problem is the state of her conservation. We can never feel the freshness of her flesh the way Leonardo created it. In a way, she is a mummy now.
Wow! Ive never seen the copy before! To see the Mona Lisa as it was originally is Truly incredible! Thank you for sharing this .
Totally agreed, and I'd rather see that version in many ways.
I can see the eyebrows- on the Mona Lisa today
I think people just stare too hard at her for no reason because I don't see any of these "tricks". She always looks like she has a small smile on, no matter where I focus. The background crookedness doesn't appear to do anything for me, and she doesn't even seem to be looking at me... she's looking just over my right shoulder......
I think the reason why few people get he chance to really see Leo's famous portrait in all its beauty is due to the circumstance of its display, sadly it is placed behind a thick acrylic tamper proof glass, with minimal lighting as to limit the degradation from radiation. There really should be an accurate copy made that can then be displayed correctly without the glass and with bright daytime lighting. Amazing work Art Deco, this is the best review of the Mona Lisa ever. Cant wait for the next one!
Considering that the Mona Lisa has been stolen once or twice, they don’t want to take any precautions
There is, supposedly, a possible unfinished previous version of her painted by Da Vinci himself, but that provenance is seriously disputed by a lot of people. In it, Mona Lisa is a bit younger, there's some columns that don't appear in the more famous portrait, and the background is unfinished. Even so, I find it a more pleasant painting to look at than the undisputed one.
Calling him “Leo” is an insultI, it’s like calling Michelangelo “Mickey”
@@dilloinitaliano I would never insult the other ninja turtles like that :(
And some activist just threw soup on it. Unfortunately the glass appears necessary.
The reason viewers don't look at the painting for more than a few moments is because they _can't._ The gallery that Mona Lisa occupies is quite large and is so packed full of other viewers that it's difficult to even get to the painting, much less make a study of it. When/if a viewer manages to break through the crowd and stand before the painting, there is still a velvet rope keeping the viewers separated from the painting by a few feet (at least that's what was there when I visited in 2005). The painting is a bit small, so many itty bitty details are not visible.
This video gives us such a fantastic view of her, and the research was presented well. Thank you for sharing this with the world ❤️
The Mona Lisa is a brilliantly painted portrait but it’s not particularly better than the average portrait by a master. It’s famous because of its historical value and story, not the painting itself
Like all "fine art" the point is the high value is money laundering
It makes me sad to think about all the wonderful paintings that get ignored at the Louvres because all tourists care about is the Mona Lisa
@@lounirs I really didn't want to see the Mona Lisa on principle when I visited the Louvre but my husband insisted we see it. I just don't care for the painting and don't really understand the hype. I was much more excited to see the Giotto paintings and medieval death statues; to each one's own I suppose.
@@amyadams2253 i hope you had fun !!
@@lounirsmy thoughts exactly! I was in MET a month ago and there was A LOT of people standing in front of van Gogh's "Starry Night" and I felt they were all taking pictures of it because they knew it from tv etc., not because they really like and appreciate it. At least not all of them. I wonder if they even noticed his other paintings hanging on the same wall 🫥
Just gotta say this lol, I've never understood people's confusion with Lisas smile "She's smiling then she's not", she's always looked simply like she's just subtly smiling personally. It's quite clear and simple
I cant express how much i love this channel! It's so nice to have a art channel that's fun and educational!!!
It’s funny, I was actually was surprised how big Mona Lisa was in person! Everyone told me she was tiny, so when I visited the Louvre I was expecting to see some miniature portrait - instead I was shocked to see it was over two and a half feet long 😂
Leonardo Da Vinci was truly incredible!
There is so much I didn't know about this painting.
I'm amazing about the effect created by the uneven horizon 🤯
Thank you to put so much work into your videos it's always a pleasure when you release one. 👍
I am literally painting it right now . these videos are so underrated and are amazing . i completely agree with you . I LOVE THESE VIDEOS SO MUCH AGHHHH
Thank you so much!
@@Art_Deco You deserve so much praise. Keep it up!
I just did an oil pastel of her. She is a fun subject. I love other renditions of her. Thanks!
I was lucky to see it many years ago at close mostly unobstructed, but I was more impressed by another Leonardo painting just beside it "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne", but because the La Gioconda hype nobody was looking at it.
As for a beautiful painting I was more captivated by Rembrandt's portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels.
This image is a wonderfully affectionate depiction of Hendrikje Stoffels, the second wife of Rembrandt. Most remarkable about this painting is how mere globs of paint seen from a few inches become a living soul just one step back.
I visited this painting many times during my stay in Paris and its effect on me never diminished.
I would pick A Bar at the Folies-Bergère better over the Mona Lisa any day of the week, but it's just another lesson in how taste and personal preferences can play a part in art and how everyone has a different way to interpretate a piece of art.
For those who love this painting, I get you, but when I see this painting it gives me the feeling that she is trying hard to listen to me but she can only pretend to do it at best.
Still I liked knowing more about it's history and details, it's hard thinking how Mona Lisa wasn't as famous as she is now.
And who, exactly, is forcing you to choose between the two?
This analysis was beautifully compiled and presented. It’s fascinating how he manipulated the painting to make it appear dynamic. I look forward to watching more of your videos.
This was great! Thank you! I spent 15 seconds in front of the painting because there were too many people and so much reflection on the protective glass.
At last!! An intelligent and well informed commentary on the Mona Lisa! I can't thank you enough-it made this old man happy.
Let me add a couple of points: In the early 1500s, this was the most realistic portrait anybody had ever seen (even more so than the Flemish paintings of the early 1400s). This was due to Leonardo's sfumato, which created the illusion of atmosphere and air wrapping around the forms. A second point is the famous smile. "Giocondo" in Italian means happiness, playfulness; the smile is a pun on her name. Leonardo was fond of puns-another example is the juniper bush ("ginepro" in Italian) that is behind Ginevra de' Benci in Leonardo's 1474-1476 portrait of her.
It's also worth pointing out that Vasari never saw the Mona Lisa-his "descriptions" of her were based on second-hand conversations and his own flights of fancy, and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
I saw the Mona Lisa in 1975. There were no crowds about and absolutely no photography allowed. Someone who had seen the painting years before I did, said that she wasn't impressed. When I saw it I was impressed. In person you can see brush strokes and the soft light on the painting. Her smile is enigmatic. If I get to the Louvre again I will go see the painting once more. I hope that it will be a day with less of a crowd.
It’s what it is because he loved it so too! It must have been his most beloved work to himself, the hardest thing for an artist is that sense of feeling and know the “finality” of that work- when you should put down the brush and decide it is done. Obviously he never was quite satisfied for himself with it… he always saw something that he needed to add….
@@kimberlypatton205 Yes. He kept it with him in all his travels.
I couldn't see any strokes behind the glass with thousands people in front
@@vplan I was there during the new year and many years ago. The painting just a single barrier around and a guard. I'm now glad that I saw the painting then.
2:35 Honestly, I don't notice how the two sides of the horizon don't line up. It seems like you're arbitrarily tracing a red line on the left side BELOW the horizon level. The actual horizon in the painting is higher, pretty much on the same level than on the right.
Love all your vids! You've come far with your editing and scripts.
Thank you!!
Imaging being a genius at everything. Davinci is such an enigma.
According to the book "World's Greatest Heists", there was a genius conman, whose unbelievably brilliant story about stealing the Mona Lisa is described.
Our hero had in his employ a few artists, who could paint perfect replicas of any masterpiece, (and he was also friends with Vincenzo, whom you mentioned above, but more of that later.)
He could spot a fool a mile away at social functions, and sold off many copies to them. Rembrandt's, Monet's, you name it.
One artist was commissioned by our hero to paint six copies of the Mona Lisa, while the latter sailed off to America to find six buyers, they being made aware of the secrecy of owning such a hot item. Easily done.
On his return, our hero instructs Vincenzo to steal the painting on the one regular day every week the Louvre is shut down for cleaning. As he built the case around the painting, it was easily dismantled in the stairwell, the painting rolled up and hidden in his coat. He shows our hero the painting in his rented room. Our hero tells him to hide it behind a facade wall, and await further instructions, then steams back to America with his six copies. US Customs was not yet aware the painting was stolen, because the Louvre management were so embarrassed, they did a media blackout for a long time. The six copies were cleared.
By the time the news was finally announced, our hero was knocking on the first of the six doors.
As for Vincenzo, he never got his further instructions, and peeved, offered to sell it to an Italian museum, as a gesture of patriotism. Italian police awaited him with handcuffs.
His "gesture of [Italian] patriotism" was also completely misplaced, since it was never intended to reside in Italy at all. DaVinci gave the Mona Lisa to the King of France as a gift, upon arrival to his court. Without the royal invitation, DaVinci would have died penniless. It was given as a gratitude, for allowing him to live out his days at the estate of his royal patron, surrounded by artists and scientists, eager to learn from such a master. This is also likely why the Mona Lisa was finished (or started) using DaVinci's own dimensions-- because he could not afford another model.
@@fleetcenturion Indeed. Further to Da Vinci's model, l saw a picture where half the face is Mona's, and the other half a famous seepia self- portrait of his old face. The proportions are identical.
this is so interesting!
Hi...Leonardo was far from poor as is revealed by his detailed will which is worth reading. He still had property in Italy. The King was never gifted either painting during his lifetime and there is no evidence how he received them. As for not being able to afford a model, there is no way the subject ever saw this painting a it took too long to paint. Since he wrote himself that models were unnecessary it's more likely to be a construct. @@fleetcenturion
They are if you change the proportions in photoshop to fit. Unfortunately the drawing so often used was not even by Leonardo.
Every time I’m enjoying myself with some rich art history, Freud just HAS to sneak in with his “hihihoho it’s his MOTHER” theories
I mean what kind of art video doesn't have Freud sneaking in to make claims about people's mothers 😂
I’m glad I’m not crazy for thinking the Mona Lisa is not all it’s cracked up to be. Sure it’s beautiful but there is so much more equally as good if not better. I’ve been to the Louvre. I feel bad for the other art in the room Mona Lisa is in. She is in a glass case in the center of room. She is smaller than I imagined. And no one is really appreciating her because it’s so busy people just end up taking pictures of her knowing they can get a better look on Google. Meanwhile, Mona Lisa is facing the biggest painting I have ever seen that took up the entire wall of the room. You didn’t know it was there until you were done getting your 15 seconds of the Mona Lisa. It’s The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese. That deserves so much time to be admired just for its size alone. The Mona Lisa overshadows all of the artwork around her and is absolutely overrated.
It wasn’t too famous until it was stolen.
That is not two different horizon lines… the waterway travels off in the distance and reveals itself on the right…
Yeah that’s what I thought lol
Mona Lisa is truly has one of the most tragic stories. A story how a painter, scientist, musician and inventor's legacy have been diluted into one single painting he nor the people of his time didn't care much for. Now Mona Lisa is Da Vinci, Da Vinci is Mona Lisa, and nothing else.
The shear scope of everything it took to make this portrait, and how long it truly took, just blows my mind. Thank you for enlightening me; I had no idea.
That 'copied' version is beautiful and I wish it was seen more often.
Thank you! I learned some things I didn't know. I saw it in 1985... for about 15 seconds. I wasn't disappointed, and I'm glad I did it. I knew I wouldn't be able to spend time examining the painting in detail-that wasn't the purpose. Seeing it in person is one of those things you never forget. I wonder what da Vinci would think if he could see how famous his masterpiece has become.
Have I told you lately that I love your teaching style? Thank you so much for everything you put into these and presenting it concisely in ways that are easy to understand regardless of your level of art knowledge. And the humor!
@@GuitarRyder11 Really convincing to call someone "uneducated" when you can't spell "provocative." Also that would be "its existence" with no apostrophe.
Thankyou so much for your research and engaging presentations on art I would have otherwise never appreciated. I’ve been following for about 6 months and I’m always checking for your next upload! Your channel has helped me understand how to look at great art in a way that no classroom has ever done. Not one to normally comment on posts. Just Thankyou.
I found myself saying, "If you say so," several times. I don't see two horizons and the smile doesn't change no matter where I look.
LOVE your videos!!! I’ve been to the Louvre and it’s 100% true you spend around 15 seconds looking at her - IF you’re able to even get up close. I basically surfed the crowd until I was able to squeeze up front past all the selfie takers, got a quick pic which ended up being poor quality, and didn’t get to appreciate the painting at all.
I wish this had come out earlier! I just finished the schoolyear as an art teacher and I was using your videos to model to my students how to analyze artwork, and they loved them. I am certain they would have been fascinated by this one. Thank you for the video.
I think it’s so fascinating that this painting is both an artistic masterpiece, but also a masterpiece in visual engineering. Optical illusions, the application of different painting techniques to make her appear more realistic, it’s so fascinating, and it shows the interdisciplinary mind of Da Vinci, which is just… so bloody rad.
This channel should be in every art class in school. It is so underrated and the best education on paintings I have ever found. Love your education!
Factors that make this painting, unique and special are that it’s a portrait of unknown person with a natural landscape background. Nobody back then was painted outdoors. This made it very unusual. Wonderful documentary and thank you so much. I think I’ll follow you.😊
I have to agree, I was a bit disappointed when I first saw the Mona Lisa. I think I appreciate her more after this video! Thank you! 🥰
It's famous for being famous, the original Paris Hilton.
Interesting, but a lot if this seems like finding profundity 13:24 where none might be through overanalysis.
I don't see 2 horizons. The left side doesn't even have clear horizon line. It's not impossible terrain. The smile is vague, subtle, open to various interpretations.
Your videos are entertaining, accessible and funny while still being factual and thought provoking.
Aside from the distance that visitors have to stand away from the painting, most viewers are not familiar with how this painting was new in its pose ( in addition to the frontal gaze, showing her hands was not the norm, etc). It also has a protective glass over it which obscures details of the color and strokes of the painting.
In Rome I was fortunate to see Michelangelo’s Pieta before it was attacked, repaired, and had a protective glass installed. The first time I saw it, I was amazed at how life-like the marble figures appeared. After the protective glass was installed, it looks flat and much less impressive.
Well, now I'm kinda wishing I'd decided to go to the Louvre when I was in Paris instead of just the Musée D'Orsay. Although I had an excellent time with Van Gogh, so I'm not crying.
Both are worth a visit and can't be compared to each other :)
That needle drop scratch sound that you use in all of your videos is priceless. In fact, I tune out all of your witty asides until I hear that needle scratch sound. I wish you would do a whole video using that sound effect over and over because its so original and funny.
Calling the most popular painting on earth "mid" is one of the most controversial claims of all time lmao. Love your vids a lot
this painting scared me so much for some reason, it was kinda creepy. i think i’ll get used to it after this video
6:51, Idk what it is but it is terrifying to me also the there's this trick with her lips, I sometimes think she's just smirking but then again for a split moment her smirks widens and the technique used by Leonardo to make her seem like she's moving is just fascinating. He's the reason why I wished I was born in the 1500's, I could've been his student and ask him any question abt his art style
Genius for a reason
What could you have been his student? Imagine knowing about this genius but not being able to get any closer to him then you could get to Donald Trump, for instance, I think the tools that we have available to us now and all of the research and everything give us so much more.
The thing that I think would make the biggest difference is understanding time. Because it seems to me in the past people lived in a different kind of time. Different sounds. More silence. Things at a slower pace… More time to think, more time to get bored. More time to give attention to a single task.
Do I think she's overhyped? To an extent. But I don't think that gives people free reign to just bash her because they feel other paintings are superior. She's still in the canon of great artistic masterpieces for a reason.
Um, wow!
So much Scholarship. So much charm. So much understanding. All wrapped up in an easy breezy package. Brilliant.
I've been to see the Mona Lisa, and looked at it for roughly 15 seconds. Here's why: It's a very small painting with 9000 people trying to see it at the same time. It's easier to study the details somewhere else. In fact the Louvre has a really great interactive website where you can learn a lot about the Mona Lisa. 15 seconds is about how long you need to feel like you can say - I was there.
You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to figure out that the Mona Lisa is Da Vinci's mother.
The fact that he took this painting with him everywhere he went, says that the subject was of special import to him.
The fact that da Vinci was of illegitimate birth, but his father adopted him, and then took him to another city, when he was only five, meant that he only could see his mother in his memory from then on.
The reason this portrait is so gauzy, is because it is woven out of the fabric of memory. And because she was such a dear subject to him, he put everything he had into this portrait.
I have long thought this. But it was only after seeing your video that I learned that Sigmund Freud had the same idea.
I guess you could say that the Mona Lisa is the world's greatest Mother's Day card.
The way you described Leornardo Da Vinci makes me think of Walt Disney. Da Vinci may have been well renowned for his paintings, sculptures and sketches, but perhaps he may have wanted his legacy to be in his scientific endeavors and maybe even his music. Walt Disney was the same; although he is synonymous with his movies and cartoons, Disney wanted his legacy to be in the progress he helped portray in Tomorrowland as well as the first draft of Epcot: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
Both gifted individuals who had a passion for more than their legacies show.
The fascinating thing about Disney is that he thought the future would be EXACTLY the way it was in the 50s societally, just the devices would be modern. Mommy, a pretty white lady, would still be tasked with cleaning the home, she'd just be directing a robot to do it. Daddy, a cis white male, would report to work outside the home, but he'd commute in a flying car. It never occurred to him that society would change dramatically.
That was a bit of a shock comparison!
I guess all who are not American may have found it so. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot I love about America- I lived there for a while- but being in Europe goes with an awareness of many other countries beside one.
0:40 ... well given the crowds there, who's going to just stay in there for longer than 15 seconds
"All we have to do is look at the Mona Lisa to know that the best art is really just beautiful science." ❤
I see her smile. Why does everyone see this painting as so hard to figure out? The way her eyes are painted, they show lots of pupil dilation, indicating happiness, yet a pond of light comes through them, indicating radiance in her joy. It is painted in a complex manner, once you showed me her eyes up close, there are lines he made in her eyes to indicate soulfulness. Her mouth is uplifted on one side, and the whole face is pulled together to indicate the radiance of joy.
She IS smiling, even when looking at her mouth in close up. It's just that her smile, instead of being an ear to ear grin, is a sly, subtle smile, barely a smile, the kind of smile a woman with a secret might have. She has a knowing smile and the way she looks directly at you is like she knows your secrets. Yet she is both unnerving and so gentle and accepting at the same time. It's a more seductive smile than it would be if she was smiling from ear to ear. She is a powerful and self assured woman.
But she isnt looking directly at us....? Her pupils point to her left....our right as we look at her.
Her pupils are very definitely NOT centered.
Apart from that, I love these videos. 😘😘😘
I am relieved to have learned that Mona Lisa's yellowish skin is not caused by her having a drinking problem.
I have one complaint about your videos... NOT ENOUGH! I love how informative, engaging and inspiring they are. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Request: please cover some of Frida Kahlo's work 🎨
I think the girl with the pearl earring is superior to the Mona Lisa!
I agree with you, but it's subjective to a large degree.
Thank you for these classes on art. You make it really easy to realize things that I could only guess
I don't think she's looking at the observer. I think she's looking just over that person's shoulder, like she's watching a prank about to unfold.
Its amazing that so many works of art are so easily approached in museums. It scares me for the survival of these works.
I watched a video a year ago where they couldn't confirm the painting was the silk merchants wife as there were no receipts. The assumption is now that the Mona Lisa is Leonardo's idealized vision of the perfect mother he never had. That is what makes it infinitely more precious.
ruclips.net/video/Re0n3veh8C4/видео.html Who is Mona Lisa?
The credible theory is that Leonardo was asked to paint for the young son of a Medici and his mistress who had died soon after. Leonardo had never seen her and there were no record of her likeness, so painted whatever motherly face he wanted, perhaps imagining his own mother thus the similarity to his self portrait. I think the son died young as well and Leonardo took the painting from Florence to France. An early biographer has seen the unnamed portrait there, and also records of a commissioned painting unaccounted for, and conflated the two.
Given how shit historians were in prior centuries this makes sense :) More sense than carting a commissioned painting all over Europe for years and years continually working on it and never delivering it. There's hints too that the real commissioned work was never finished and ended up in possession of Leonardo's assistant, subsequently lost.
Dear AD, I simply wished to tell you that I love your presentations. The detail you get into is always fascinating. The humorous asides you include are fun. Best wishes, and keep up the great work.
I don’t see anything you are talking about 😬
I think you're mistaken about the horizon line.
Apparently you're under the mistaken impression that horizons are straight lines. They aren't.
Those of us who paint landscapes know that the most attractive horizons are the ones that are not horizontal.
Leonardo da Vinci was literally the biggest con man of his time. Rarely finishing anything he was commissioned for and keeping all his ‘research’ to himself until the day he died.
While he was alive, he contributed almost nothing to better mankind. All his revolutionary sketches of whatever have been exaggerated to the point that he went back in time and was the one that taught Jesus how to walk on water.
The Mona Lisa is quite a nice painting. I’ve seen it in real life. And it does have a ‘glow’ to it. Mainly the way it was painted. But he never turned it over to the person that commissioned it. He just worked on it throughout his life adding this. Touching that.
Want to see failure of the genius on an epic failure? His ‘last supper’ tempura. It’s not a fresco. It started already deteriorating while he was alive. It is such bad shape that even with Herculean efforts, it is estimated that only 18% of the original pigment remains.
He would be considered a charlatan by today’s standards.
I bought a print of the mona lisa off ebay and drew eyebrows on her. How she transformed was amazing. I've framed it and everytime I walk past her I realise I have brought her to life.
I've first seen the Mona Lisa in a magazine when I was under or around 5 years old, in a country that was isolated (under Totalitarism) at the time, there was no internet back then and I neither knew or cared for how famous the painting was. I apparently immediately fell in love with her and my parents cut the photo out and framed it for me. I don't remember this instance, but it doesn't matter because I do and will always remember the feeling of not coming back to an empty home (I'm an only child and my parents both worked, so I was often the first one back) when I could just look at her and felt seen and understood; when her eyes that followed me and her barely there maybe-smile could interact with my feelings(good or bad, I would sometimes even feel lovingly scolded); when there was a "friend" on the wall and not just a pretty thing looking down on me. She made me fall in love with art, but I've only once again in my life reacted so strongly to an art piece - and that emotion did last a while, took my breath away and moved me to tears even, but lacked the strong remaining feelings of understanding and companionship the Mona Lisa always blooms in me. So I'm extremely biased in saying she is indeed the most important painting in the world in my eyes. That said, I doubt the experience of looking at her in the Louvre , in a sea of people, from a distance etc, would be that satisfying- so I understand the people that are underwhelmed. (The dimensions don't play a big role for me, the one I had in my house was smaller than the original and I learned early on that she was small irl as well, but I can see people being let down because of that.) Dunno why I actually commented, I guess I just wanted to share the experience. I love her and I'm so happy she was painted!!! (Love Leonardo as well, obviously, and not only because of her, but who knows when and how I would have been introduced to him, had it not been for her.)
I have no idea if you write your own script, but if you do you are wonderfully captivating and clever! You bring the information to us in a wonderful and engaging voice. Thank you for the facts, the theories, the rumors, and the opinions. This was a terrific video.
Your commentary is wonderful! There should always be a marriage of art and science, separating them is ruin. Thank you.
Well, I saw your nice video of the painting larger than life - plus a nice dialog on it. Now, I don't have to go to the museum to see her! I can move on to another object of lust...
I'll never forget somebody warning me about what seeing the Mona Lisa is like before I visited Paris and I'm so glad they did. I got avoid the disappointment although it was a "that happened" moment. It would be nice to see it up close.
According to this 'she's 'literally everywhere'. That is, of course, a lie. The Collins English dictionary says about this (typically American) error: 'You use literally to emphasize that what you are saying is true, even though it seems exaggerated or surprising.'
How amaziing is this video! I’m both enlightened and enjoyed every second. Smart funny informative, great editing and visuals. Thank you so much🥰
“Submerged in old asparagus water” my coffee flew out of my mouth. Love your modern takes ❤❤❤
Definitely worth the hype. I was shocked when I saw her. Prints and photos are nothing like the glow and life of the original real painting. Ingres paintings are incredible too in actually seeing them.
I discovered this channel today… and i am in love with these videos. Thanks a lot.❤
IMHO on the left side the horizon is not where you put the line, is a little bit upper, difficult to see but there is a thin blue line, the same color as water on the right side which is on the horizon line and they match, look closely and better.
HUGE thank you for NOT playing background music when we are all trying to listen to your wisdom!
Sfumato or-as you indicate with the lack of eyebrows-more signs of over-cleaning.
If the “copy” is an example of how the “original” may have looked I’d consider the painting in the Louvre a “doer-upper”.
As for the uneven horizon line, it does not appear the same in the “copy”.
Did the “student” correct Da Vinci’s mistake? Or was the “original” altered after the “copy” was made?
Has La Giaconda been badly damaged and poorly restored?
All up I’d say the painting has had quite a life and any interpretation that does not rely on Da Vinci’s own words, or to a lesser extent on those of Vasari, well I’m thinking “experts gonna expert”.
5:06 The horizen in the student's copy is actually consistent between left and right, showing the same lake to the left and right of the Mona Lisa. There is no incongruence of perspective.
Actually its the Mandella Effect, the Painting was Never Smiling and she never had a Vail either
I got lucky when I saw her, went on a winter of 2020 before Covid. There was not so many people so I got to really enjoy the painting and it was magnificent. Masterpiece indeed!
I learned more about the Mona Lisa here than I ever knew. (I saw the painting 40 years ago, and I remember well that feeling of surprise and accompanying disappointment at how fairly small it was and difficult to see from a bit of a distance in the crowd.)
Pickpockets love this painting. They surround victims looking at this masterpiece. Facts.