German experts crack Mona Lisa smile

[Dark Knight]

German academics believe they have solved the centuries-old mystery behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait.

Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, has long been seen as the most likely model for the sixteenth-century painting.

But art historians have often wondered whether the smiling woman may actually have been da Vinci's lover, his mother or the artist himself.

Now experts at the Heidelberg University library say dated notes scribbled in the margins of a book by its owner in October 1503 confirm once and for all that Lisa del Giocondo was indeed the model for one of the most famous portraits in the world.

"All doubts about the identity of the Mona Lisa have been eliminated by a discovery by Dr. Armin Schlechter," a manuscript expert, the library said in a statement on Monday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080114...c&printer=1;_ylt=AlVNWyI1asZqfcag.fiEPxNg.3QA

 

[Show Me]

I think she's smiling cause she's pregnant. Plus the way her arms are around her belly.

 

[reb]

...or maybe she's smiling because she just felt like smiling....??
a lot of mystery and intrigue has been attached to this painting for so long,, and it's interesting that people are so fascinated with it. but i honestly think it's just a straightforward portrait, and she looks very relaxed. it was definitely unusual to see a portrait back then with a smile (even a slight one like this)- but then again.. this was a man truly, amazingly, so far ahead of his time, it boggles the mind.....!!!

 

[deanws]

Gosh...I think she and the painting are ugly.:bang:

 

[Shazza]

Gosh...I think she and the painting are ugly.:bang:

Doesnt do much for me either deanws. Maybe if the painting was painted in brighter colours, Im more of a Ken Done fan, he is an Aussie Artist who's paintings are very bright and make you feel happy. The Mona Lisa kinda makes me feel sad.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I never really understood all the hoopla surrounding this painting either.

Gosh...I think she and the painting are ugly.:bang:

 

[deanws]

Doesnt do much for me either deanws. Maybe if the painting was painted in brighter colours, Im more of a Ken Done fan, he is an Aussie Artist who's paintings are very bright and make you feel happy. The Mona Lisa kinda makes me feel sad.

I never really understood all the hoopla surrounding this painting either.

I am glad others feel his way too. I almost went back and deleted my post.
I think the story is interesting...but just can't seem to really like the painting.:crazy:

 

[Rino]

...or maybe she's smiling because she just felt like smiling....??
a lot of mystery and intrigue has been attached to this painting for so long,, and it's interesting that people are so fascinated with it. but i honestly think it's just a straightforward portrait, and she looks very relaxed. it was definitely unusual to see a portrait back then with a smile (even a slight one like this)- but then again.. this was a man truly, amazingly, so far ahead of his time, it boggles the mind.....!!!

I think you're right.

My daughter read about this and noticed that back then no one smiled in portraits. Since DeVince was so ahead of his time he probably just asked her to smile, teeth being not too pretty back then would explain the closed lip smile - ta da, mystery solved. We should have gotten a grant so she could make money on her observations

 

[MagicRose99]

You have to remember, back then, beauty was held to a different standard that it is today... back in the 1500s this woman was probably deemed a very beautiful woman. While she's not to our "tastes" I bet she was to that era.

 

[Dark Knight]

I think you're right.

My daughter read about this and noticed that back then no one smiled in portraits. Since DeVince was so ahead of his time he probably just asked her to smile, teeth being not too pretty back then would explain the closed lip smile - ta da, mystery solved. We should have gotten a grant so she could make money on her observations

People didn't smile for photographs, either, until quite a ways into the 20th century. That's what makes the painting unique, in many ways. The fact that she was smiling. It's a very lovely painting.

 

[deanws]

You have to remember, back then, beauty was held to a different standard that it is today... back in the 1500s this woman was probably deemed a very beautiful woman. While she's not to our "tastes" I bet she was to that era.

Point taken.

 

[becklynn]

The way she was dressed was analysed and it was decided the painting was to commerorate the birth of her secound child. Seems new mothers wore a certain type of clothing during that period.