Lisa, a Florentine Lady in Paris

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Lisa, a Florentine Lady in Paris
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Outline

• Introduction
• Part I. Leonardo and Lisa
• A. Da Vinci as a painter
• B. Who is Mona?
• C. Leonardo brings Lisa to France
• Part II. Lisas journey through time
• A. From the Loire Valley to Paris
• B. A thief brings Lisa back to Florence
• C. Mona Lisa nowadays
• Conclusion
• References

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Introduction

• Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the
  world from the beginning, it was much admired
  and copied
• Here is a presentation of the painting and the
  travels of Mona between Italy and France from the
  Renaissance (16th century) to nowadays

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Part I. Leonardo and Lisa
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A. Da Vinci as a painter

• Leonardo born in 1452, in Vinci, near Florence
• Son of a wealthy Florentine notary, he was
  handsome, persuasive and curious
• In 1466, apprenticed to Verrocchio
• His first large painting The adoration of the
  Magi (1481, Uffizi)
• His two most famous paintings are Mona Lisa and
  the Last Supper (1498, Milan)

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Leonardo da Vinci
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B. Who is Mona?

• A woman dressed in the Florentine fashion of her
  day and seated in a visionary, mountainous
  landscape
• The Mona Lisa's enigmatic expression, which seems
  both alluring and aloof, has given the portrait
  universal fame
• From the beginning it was greatly admired and
  much copied, and it came to be considered the
  prototype of the Renaissance portrait

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• Mona Lisa (1479-1528), also known as La Gioconda,
  the wife of Francesco del Giocondo 1503-06 Oil
  on wood, 77 x 53 cm Musee du Louvre, Paris

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C. Leonardo brings Lisa to France

• In 1516, Leonardo accepted an invitation of
  Francis I of France to settle at the castle of
  manor house Clos Lucé (also called "Cloux") next
  to the king's residence at Amboise
• Here the old master was left entirely free to
  pursue his own researches until his death in 1519
• Leonardo notably designed the plan for Chambord,
  but he died before construction began
• When Leonardo left Italy, he brought Mona Lisa
  with him

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Chambord, Loire Valley
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Part II. Lisas journey through time
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A. From the Loire Valley to Paris

• After the death of Leonardo, Francis I bought
  Mona Lisa for his castle in the city of Amboise
• Louis XIV made the painting part of his private
  collection in the magnificent palace of
  Versailles
• Later, Napoleon kept Mona Lisa hung up in his
  bedroom until he was defeated and went into exile
• Since 1804, the worlds most renowned piece of
  art is housed in the Louvre

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Napoleon conquering Italy
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B. A thief brings Lisa back to Florence

• One morning of August 1911, Mona Lisa was not
  hanging in its original placing in the Louvre
• A former employee, Vincenzo Perugia, was caught
  when he tried to sell the portrait in Florence 2
  years later
• Perugia claimed it was an act of patriotism he
  wanted the Mona Lisa to be back in its country of
  origin
• On January 4, 1914, after a triumphal tour
  through Italy, Mona was ceremoniously restored to
  her place in the Louvre
• Having occupied the front pages of all the
  newspapers and gazettes around the world for more
  than two years, Mona Lisa became more famous than
  ever

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Florence
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C. Mona Lisa nowadays

• During World War II the painting was again
  removed from the Louvre and brought to safety
• In 1956, the lower part of the painting was
  severely damaged after an acid attack. Several
  months later someone threw a stone at it. It is
  now covered by security glass
• In April 2005, the painting was moved, within the
  Louvre, to a new home in the museum's Salle des
  Etats
• It is displayed in a purpose-built,
  climate-controlled enclosure behind unbreakable,
  non-reflective glass

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C. Mona in the Louvre
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Conclusion

• Mona Lisa is the most romanticized, celebrated,
  and reproduced painting in the world
• Lisa is famous because of Leonardo, of his genius
  and of his technique (sfumato)
• She is also famous for her enigmatic smile, the
  uncertainty of her identity. Lisa looks alive.
  She seems to look at us and to have a mind of her
  own
• Finally, she became worldwide famous in 1911 as
  all the newspapers of the world were taking about
  her disappearance

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References

• http//www.abcgallery.com/L/leonardo/leonardo.html
  
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci
• http//www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vinci/joconde
  
• http//www1.pu.edu.tw/bmon/MyTexts.htmMona
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo
• http//www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/mona_
  nav/main_monafrm.html
• http//www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web20publis
  hing/Vasari_daVinci.htm
• http//www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/mona_
  nav/mnav_level_1/timeline_monafrm.html

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Merci et à bientôt