Leonardo da Vinci'sMona Lisa is one of the most recognizable and famous works of art in the world, and one of the most replicated and reinterpreted.Mona Lisa studio versions, copies or replicas were already being painted during Leonardo's lifetime by his own students and contemporaries. Some are claimed to be the work of Leonardo himself, and remain disputed by scholars. Prominent 20th-century artists such asMarcel Duchamp andSalvador Dalí have also produced derivative works, manipulatingMona Lisa's image to suit their own aesthetic. ReplicatingRenaissance masterpieces continues to be a way for aspiring artists to perfect their painting techniques and prove their skills.[1]
ContemporaryMona Lisa replicas are often created in conjunction with events or exhibitions related to Leonardo da Vinci, for publicity. Theportrait, in thepublic domain and outside ofcopyright protection, has also been used to makepolitical statements. Aside from countless print-reproductions of Leonardo's originalMona Lisa on postcards, coffee mugs and T-shirts, her likeness has also been re-imagined using coffee, toast, seaweed,Rubik's Cubes, and computer chips, to name only a few. Now over five-hundred years since her creation, the perpetuation ofMona Lisa's influence is reinforced with every reinterpretation.[2]
At the beginning of the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned by Florentine nobleman Francesco del Giocondo to paint a portrait of his wife, Lisa.[3]The painting is believed to have been undertaken between 1503 and 1506.[4]Leonardo's portrait ofMona Lisa ("Mona" or "Monna" being the Italianhonorific for "Madame") has been on display as part of the permanent collection at Paris' Louvre museum since 1797. It is also known asLa Joconde in French andLa Gioconda in Italian.[3][5]
Replicas ofMona Lisa date back to the 16th century,[4]including sculptures and etchings inspired by the painting.[6][7]But even by the early 20th century, historian Donald Sassoon has stated,Mona Lisa was still "just a well-respected painting by a famousold master" and was "not even the most valued painting in the Louvre."[2] The painting's theft on August 11, 1911, and the subsequentmedia frenzy surrounding the investigation and its recovery ignited public interest and led to theMona Lisa gaining its current standing.[2]
Mona Lisa is in thepublic domain and not subject to copyright, whereas some modern works based on the original such asMarcel Duchamp'sL.H.O.O.Q. are protected by copyright law.[8]
A 16th Century replica, namedGioconda di Montecitorio or Gioconda Torlonia hangs in theChamber of Deputies (Italy), acquired from the collection of theTorlonia family. Following a restoration, some scholars assert that Leonardo made it as a replica of the original, while others dispute that conclusion.[9][10][11][12]
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A version of theMona Lisa known as theIsleworth Mona Lisa and theEarlier Mona Lisa was first bought by an English nobleman in 1778 and was rediscovered in 1913 byHugh Blaker, an art connoisseur. The painting was presented to the media in 2012 by the Mona Lisa Foundation.[13]
The current scholarly consensus on attribution is unclear.[14] Some experts, includingFrank Zöllner,Martin Kemp andLuke Syson denied the attribution;[15][16] professors such as Salvatore Lorusso, Andrea Natali,[17] and John F Asmus supported it;[18] others likeAlessandro Vezzosi andCarlo Pedretti were uncertain.[19]
In 2011, thePrado inMadrid, Spain, announced discovery of what may be the earliest known replica.[4][20]Miguel Falomir, heading the Department of Italian Renaissance Painting at the time of the discovery, stated the Prado "had no idea of (the painting's) significance" until a recent restoration.[4]Recovered from the Prado's vaults, the replica – whichEl Mundo newspaper dubbed "Mona Lisa's twin" (above, far right)[20] – was reportedly painted simultaneously alongside Leonardo as he painted his ownMona Lisa; in the same studio, by a "key" student.[4]It was painted on walnut. The replica has been part of the Prado's collection since the museum's founding in 1819.[21]
After restoration, the Prado'sMona Lisa revealed details covered by previous restorations and layers of varnish.Furnishings and fabrics were enhanced, as well as landscape and facial features.It is anticipated that such revelations may offer further insight into Leonardo's original.Experts at the Louvre reportedly supported the Prado museum's findings.The Prado replica was subsequently transported to the Louvre in 2012 to be displayed next toMona Lisa as part of a temporary exhibition.[4][20][21]
A version known as theHermitage Mona Lisa is in theHermitage Museum. It was made by an unknown 16th-century artist. The good workmanship, legibility and expressiveness emanating from the work were pointed out, the execution of portrait is presumably of Nordic Europe derivation, in particular German-Flemish.[22]
Two nude paintings bearing similarities to Leonardo da Vinci's original were part of a 2009 exhibition of artwork inspired byMona Lisa.Displayed at the Museo Ideale in Leonardo's hometown ofVinci, nearFlorence, some believe one of the paintings – dating from Leonardo's time[6] – to be the work of Leonardo himself, and it has at times been credited to him.[23]Other experts theorize the painting, one of at least six known to exist, may be just another copy painted by "followers" of Leonardo.Scholarly dispute persists as to artist, subject and origin.[24]The nude in question, discovered behind a wall in a private library, reportedly belonged to an uncle ofNapoleon Bonaparte, who owned another of Leonardo's paintings.[6]Facial features bear only vague resemblance, but landscape, compositional and technical details correspond to those of theMona Lisa known worldwide today.[23][24]
A student and companion of Leonardo da Vinci known asSalaì painted one of the nude interpretations ofMona Lisa known, titledMona Vanna.Salai's version is thought by some to have been "based on" the nude sometimes attributed to Leonardo, which is considered alost work. Discussion among experts exists as to whether Salai, known to have modeled for Leonardo, may in fact have been the sitter represented in the originalMona Lisa.[25][26]
Another nude also known asMona Vanna is generally attributed toJoos van Cleve, a Flemish artist active in the years followingMona Lisa's creation. Though the figure portrayed in van Cleve's painting bears no resemblance to Leonardo'sMona Lisa, the artist was known to mimic themes and techniques of Leonardo da Vinci. The artwork, dating to the mid-16th century, is in the collection of theNational Gallery,Prague.[27]
By the 20th century,Mona Lisa had already been a victim of satirical embellishment.Sapeck (Eugène Bataille), in 1883, depictedMona Lisa smoking a pipe. TitledLe Rire (The Laugh), the artwork was displayed at the "Incoherents" exhibition in Paris at the time of its creation, making it among the earliest known instances ofMona Lisa's image being re-interpreted using contemporaryirony.Further interpretations byavant-garde artists beginning in the early 20th century, coinciding with the artwork's theft, attest toMona Lisa's popularity as an irresistible target.Dadaists andSurrealists were quick to modify, embellish andcaricatureMona Lisa's visage.
Marcel Duchamp, among the most influential artists of his generation, in 1919 may have inadvertently set the standard for modern manifestations ofMona Lisa simply by adding a goatee and mustache to an existing postcard print of Leonardo's original.Duchamp pioneered the concept ofreadymades, which involves taking mundane objects not generally considered to be art and transforming them artistically, sometimes by simply renaming them and placing them in a gallery setting.InL.H.O.O.Q. the "found object" is aMona Lisa postcard onto which Duchamp drew a goatee and mustache in pencil and appended the title.
The title, Duchamp is said to have admitted in his later years, is a pun. The letters L-H-O-O-Q pronounced in French form the sentenceElle a chaud au cul,colloquially translating into English as "She has a hot ass."[28]As was the case with many of his readymades, Duchamp made multiple versions ofL.H.O.O.Q. in varying sizes and media throughout his career.An unmodified black and white reproduction ofMona Lisa on a playing-card, onto which Duchamp in 1965 inscribedLHOOQ rasée (LHOOQ Shaved), is among manysecond-generation variants referencing the originalL.H.O.O.Q.[29]
Duchamp's parody ofMona Lisa was itself parodied byFrancis Picabia in 1942, annotatedTableau Dada Par Marcel Duchamp ("Dadaist Scene for Marcel Duchamp"),[30] another example ofsecond-generation interpretations ofMona Lisa.Salvador Dalí created hisSelf Portrait as Mona Lisa in 1954, referencingL.H.O.O.Q. in collaboration withPhilippe Halsman, incorporating his photographs of a wild-eyed Dalí showing hishandlebar moustache and a handful of coins.[2][30][31]In 1958,Icelandic painterErró then incorporated Dalí's version into a composition which also included a film-still from Dalí'sUn Chien Andalou.Fernand Léger andRené Magritte are among the numbers ofModern art masters who have adaptedMona Lisa using their own iconography.[2]None of the parodies have tarnishedMona Lisa's image; rather, they reinforce her fame.[2]Duchamp'smustachedMona Lisa embellishment continues to inspire imitation. Contemporary conceptual artistSubodh Gupta gaveL.H.O.O.Q. three-dimensional form in his 2009 bronze sculptureEt tu, Duchamp? Gupta, from India, considers himself an "idol thief" and has reinterpreted a number of iconic works from European art history.[32]
In December 1962,André Malraux, the first Frenchminister of cultural affairs, lent theMona Lisa to the United States at the request ofFirst LadyJacqueline Kennedy.[33] The painting was displayed at theNational Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from January 9 to February 3, 1963.[34] Then it was exhibited at theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York from February 7 to March 4, 1963.[34] Radio personalityBruce Morrow presided over a promotional event duringMona Lisa's exhibition in New York City. 70,000 entries of a "Best Mona" painting contest were exhibited at thePolo Grounds, with Salvador Dalí helping to pick the winner.[35]
During the painting's first American presentation in 1963,Fernando Botero—who had already paintedMona Lisa, Age Twelve in 1959—painted anotherMona Lisa, this time in what would become his trademark "Boterismo" style of rendering figures disproportionately plump.[36]Andy Warhol created multiple renditions ofMona Lisa in hisPop art style.[37] Warhol's worksColored Mona Lisa (1963),FourMona Lisas (1978), andMona Lisa Four Times (1978) illustrate Warhol's method ofsilk-screening an image repetitively within the same work of art.[38]
In 1974Salvatore Fiume madeGioconda Africana, a tribute to black female beauty: this "Gioconda" was donated to the Vatican and stays inVatican Museums.[39]Mona Lisa is also referenced in artwork byContemporary artists includingJasper Johns andRobert Rauschenberg, adding to the veritable "who's who" list of artists putting their ownspin on the portrait.[2] Apaint by numbers version ofMona Lisa accompanied artistSuzanne Lacy during her 1977travelogueTravels with Mona, documenting the painting process atlandmark locations throughoutEurope andCentral America.[30]
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From the 1980s through the end of the 20th century,Mona Lisa continued to be the subject of re-interpretation among a new generation of emerging artists.Neo-expressionist artistJean-Michel Basquiat created various depictions such asCrown Hotel (Mona Lisa Black Background) (1982),Mona Lisa (1983), andLye (1983).[40] Pop artistKeith Haring juxtaposedMona Lisa in a series of collages:Weeping Mona Lisa (1988),Apocalipse 7 (1988), andMalcolm X (1988).[41]Ballpoint art pioneerLennie Mace created hisMona a'la Mace replica in 1993, a ballpoint "PENting" commissioned byPilot pen company and featured onCBS News.[42][43]ArtistSophie Matisse, great-granddaughter of artistHenri Matisse, in her 1997Monna Lisa (Be Back in Five Minutes) faithfully replicated the setting of the original painting, but omitted Mona Lisa from the scene; a concept she would repeat using other iconic artworks.[44]
British street artistBanksy in the first decade of the 21st centurystenciled a "Mona LisaMujaheddin" holding a rocket launcher, and anothermooning the viewer.
Mona Lisa was featured as the focus ofWill.i.am's song and music videoMona Lisa Smile inNicole Scherzinger was placed in the painting asMona Lisa.[45][clarification needed]
Mona Lisa's iconic face has been available for years in all forms, appearing in advertisements for fashion and travel industries, and on the cover of magazines.[2]Leonardo da Vinci's own status asgenius has been suggested as a factor contributing to the mystique of his creation.[46]The eyes of Leonardo's originalMona Lisa appear within cover-graphics forDan Brown's 2003 novelThe Da Vinci Code.[2]TheMona Lisa portrait also appeared in theteaser trailer for the2006 film of the same name, although a replica was used for filming, appears only briefly in the film, and plays a very small part in the story.The sheer number and variety of replicas and reproductions since its creation in the early 16th century illustrates a so-calledself-reinforcing dynamic; utilized in advertising because of its familiarity, its fame is reinforced thereby.[2]
Paintingknock-offs ofMona Lisa and other Western masterpieces has become acottage industry of sorts.Struggling artists in China paint them by the hundreds to supply the demand of American and European markets, andMona Lisa is among the most popular requests.Working in cramped studios, or at home with children running around, these artists can earn a few hundred dollars (US) for a week's worth of work on paintings which are then sold retail through mail-order catalogues.[1]Reproducing the works ofold masters by hand not only provides a way to earn a living but also a way of furthering their art education by perfecting painting techniques.[1]
Among the most common motifs for satirization,Mona Lisa's face is embellished upon such as Duchamp adding a mustache.ReplacingMona Lisa's face or head altogether is another common motif; British artist Caroline Shotton in 2007 produced a series of paintings replicating classical works of art ascows, which she would go on to title her "GreatMoo-sters" series.The inspiration for the series, she says, came to her while watching a documentary aboutMona Lisa.Having settled upon the cow motif, she then formulated puns befitting her chosen subjects; wherebyMona Lisa becameMoo-na Lisa.[47]
In the 2003 filmElf, Buddy uses anEtch-a-Sketch to draw the Mona Lisa in the process of building Santa Land by the North Pole inGimbels. InHorton Hears A Who, the Mayor Ned McDodd shows his only son Jojo a family gallery where in one part his great grandmother is parodied as the Mona Lisa. And inMy Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, there is a cake that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy have baked with a picture of the Mona Lisa inside. In 2012, English actress Kathy Burke portrayed the Mona Lisa in the first series ofPsychobitches.[48]
Mona Lisa replicas are sometimes directly or indirectly embellished as commentary of contemporary events.Exhibitions or events with ties to Leonardo da Vinci or Renaissance art also provide an opportunity for local artists to exploitMona Lisa's image toward promoting the events.[46] The resulting artworks represent a broad spectrum of artists usingcreative license.
In a similar vein, artist Kristen Cumings in 2010 created her own "Jelly Bean Mona" replica using over 10,000 jelly beans. The one initial creation led to a full series of eight masterpiece replicas commissioned by a California jelly bean company as apublicity stunt and addition to the company's collection.Ohio'sCenter of Science and Industry (COSI) inColumbus thought the series noteworthy enough to be featured in an exhibition, held at the end of 2012.[49]
A replica ofMona Lisa publicized as the "world's smallest" was painted by Andrew Nichols ofNew Hampshire (USA) in 2011, intending "to break the record." Recreated at a 70:1 ratio, the miniatureMona Lisa measures approximately 1/4 by 7/16 inches (7 by 11 mm). Although his rendition drew media attention, it was never officially reported whether he had, in fact, broken any existing record.[citation needed] In 2013, a far smaller version of the painting, entitled theMini Lisa, was created by aGeorgia Institute of Technology student named Keith Carroll. The replica was created to demonstrate a new scientific technique calledthermochemical nanolithography (TCNL). TheMini Lisa was just 30 micrometres (0.0012 in) wide, about 1/25,000th the size of the original.[50]
High school students attracted media attention in 2011 by recreatingMona Lisa onDaytona Beach, Florida (USA), using seaweed which had accumulated on shore. It took two people approximately one hour to "turn the ugly seaweed into a work of art." Aside from photos appearing in the press, presumably their efforts were washed away with the tide.[51]
In 2012 the Portuguese designer Luís Silva created a poster for a campaign against violence on women representing Mona Lisa with a sore eye and a sombre expression, with the slogan "Could you live without her smile?".[52]
The computer age introduced digitally-produced or -inspired incarnations ofMona Lisa.Aside from versions constructed of actual computermotherboards,[53]mosaic-making techniques are another common motif used in such re-creations.[49]
Mimicking the heavypixelation of a highly magnified computer file, Canadian artist Robert McKinnon assembled 315Rubik's Cubes into a 36 by 48 inchMona Lisa mosaic, an effect dubbed "Rubik's Cubism" by French artistInvader.[54]Similarly, coloredLegobricks have been employed to replicateMona Lisa in a mosaic motif.A 2011 exhibition titledDa Vinci, The Genius at theFrazier Museum inLouisville, Kentucky, attracted attention by having aMona Lisa constructed byLego artist Brian Korte.[46]Known asBrick Art, so-called "pro" Lego builders such asEric Harshbarger have made multiple replicas of Mona Lisa.Matching the approximate 21 by 30 inch size (535 x 760+ mm) of Leonardo's original[5] requires upwards of 5,000 standard Legobricks, but replicas measuring 6 by 8 feet have been built, requiring more than 30,000 bricks.[55][56][57]
Media coverage of the many incarnations ofMona Lisa often allude to the likely disbelief of Leonardo himself; of the intrigue she would come to inspire, and the unimaginable extremes of her re-portrayal.[53]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)Alessandro Vezzosi, who spoke at the launch inGeneva, andCarlo Pedretti, the great Leonardo specialist, made encouraging but noncommittal statements about the picture being of high quality and worthy of further research.
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