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. Lisa’s 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. Lisa’s 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 world’s 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.htm#Mona 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/web

%20publishing/Vasari_daVinci.htm http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/

mona_nav/mnav_level_1/timeline_monafrm.html

Merci et à bientôt