Mona Lisa's Identity
amesh (Mette)
assumed identity of Mona Lisa, the model for Leonardo da Vinci's famous
painting at the Louvre.
The Danish article reads in short:
For years art historians and researchers have disputed who the lady with the
enigmatic smile really was, and a lot of different theories have been aired;
she has been assumed to be anybody from the artist's mother, over a
self-portrait in female form (Leonardo was assumed homosexual), to a
courtesan, and a prostitute from Florence. After twenty-five years of
research by an Italian teacher, Giuseppe Pallanti, it is now assumed that
she was Lisa Gherardini, married to a rich Florentine silk merchant.
Giuseppe Pallanti gives evidence that the silk merchant Ser Francesco del
Giocondo was a close friend of the Da Vinci-family. He married Lisa
Gherardini in 1495, and the couple had five children, of whom two were girls
who both became nuns. Already in 1550 it was maintained that Mona Lisa's
real name was Lisa Gherardini, and for centuries she has been known under
her alternative name, La Gioconda. Pallanti maintains that all evidence
shows that Da Vinci knew Mona Lisa long before she was painted. But as
opposed to other Renaissance paintings, this one is unsigned by the artist,
and has no information about where and when it was painted.
However, Pallanti's research has given evidence to the close relationship
through many years between Leonardo Da Vinci's father, and the silk merchant
Giocondo, whose testament mentions Mona Lisa as his "beloved and intelligent
spouse".
Pallanti has presented his research to the public in a small book and,
slthough not stating Mona Lisa's identity with 100% certainty, much
acclaimed by art historians. ItaliaOggi 08.04.2004 (for some reason in
Portuguese).
Mona Lisa stamps in various forms are displayed on
http://arthistory.heindorffhus.dk/frame-Leonardo.htm
--
Ann Mette Heindorff (Mette)
http://www.heindorffhus.dk
amesh (Mette)
news:2okk9fF...@uni-berlin.de...
> A couple of weeks ago I read an article in a Danish newspaper about the
> assumed identity of Mona Lisa, the model for Leonardo da Vinci's famous
> painting at the Louvre.
>
> The Danish article reads in short:
- snip for brevity -
ItaliaOggi 08.04.2004
This link doesn't show properly on my screen. For the sake of good order
here it is again:
http://www.italiaoggi.com.br/not07_0904/ital_not20040804a.htm
Mette
Rodney
That concurs with a documentary I viewed recently
titled "Secrets of the Mona Lisa"
(Lisa Gherardini)
Blair (TC)
Works for me.
Blair
Rodney
"The secrets of the Mona Lisa"
(known at the Louvre, simply, as painting 779)
so I shall have another squizz tonight
and let you know of their comments.
amesh (Mette)
news:4125...@usenet.per.paradox.net.au...
> I have just realised I have kept the Video Documentary
> "The secrets of the Mona Lisa"
> (known at the Louvre, simply, as painting 779)
> so I shall have another squizz tonight
> and let you know of their comments.
Thanks. Actually I have read the Danish article already on 3rd August, but
at that moment the link referred to was inaccessible. I only came round to
it again last night, and realized that the ItaliaOggi-link was online on 4th
August ... ;-)
I'll be happy about any comments :-)
Rodney
From : "The secret Life of the Mona Lisa"
A great documentary, very long, very interesting.
As to the final confirmation of the identity,
A truly amazing piece of detective work,
Some pour soul had sat in the Milan State Archive
Day after day after day after day, reading Latin Documents.
Then finally a document appears revealing the inventory of one
Gianne Giacomo Caprotti (sp?)
who was murdered in 1525
We know Gianne Giacomo as Salli (sp? Sall eye)
the life long assistant to Leonardo.
In the inventory of the property of Caprotti , of various paintings, there is one called
The Honda (sp?), this has been crossed out and La Giaconda (The smiling one)
has been corrected, this we know as the married name of Leonardo's sitter
(Lisa Gherardini)
Voila! seems Leonardo left the painting to Salli.
HTH
BTW, when the painting was stolen on August 21st 1911
there was a massive police hunt, and one of the first people
investigated was a radical Spanish painter, one Pablo Picasso
The painting was recovered and identified, by the knowledge
of a tell-tale splinter on the back of the Poplar board on which
the painting was made.
There was numerous other interesting pieces in the doc,
including the existence of a strip tease version of La Giaconda
which is apparently related and called the Mona Vanna, and hung
in French King Francis 1st's Bedroom.
amesh (Mette)
Thanks a lot, Rodney, very interesting. Much appreciated :-)
Rodney
amesh (Mette)
> .......Leonardo, a true Etruscan?
Could easily be. I don't have the guts to study the Milan State Archives
for that ... ;-)
Blair (TC)
wrote:
More Mona trivia:
Who Was She?
She is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, born Tuesday, (the only day the
Louvre is closed) June 15th 1479. She married Francesco di Bartolomeo
di Zanobi del Giocondo, a wealthy Florentine merchant, when she was
16. At the time of the painting she was 24 and had 2 sons.
What other names does she go by?
Monna Lisa was her original title. Monna is a contraction for Madonna,
Mia Donna (Madam or My Lady). It became Mona Lisa, in English,
due to a spelling error. She is La Joconde in French, La Gioconda
in Italian, "the merry one," referring to the smile but also possibly
a
play on her name, Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo.
Who painted her?
Leonardo da Vinci- (1452-1519) He was the illegitimate son of a notary
from the small Tuscan village of Vinci near Florence. Very handsome
with a wonderful physique, he even possessed an excellent singing
voice.
Artist, scientist, philosopher, anatomist, astronomer, engineer,
inventor
and courtier, a true Renaissance man.
How long did it take him to paint it?
It was believed to have been painted from 1503 to 1506, four years.
How old is the painting?
In 2003, we will celebrate its 500th birthday!
Where is the signature?
The panel is unsigned and undated
Where does it hang?
It hangs in the Louvre in Paris and is painting # 779.
Why is this Italian painting hanging in a French Museum?
In the 16th century, The Mona Lisa became the property of the
French King, Francois I who was an acquaintance and admirer of
Leonardo da Vinci. Except for brief tours in Italy in 1913, to the US
in the 60's to Japan and Moscow in the 70's it has remained
in the Louvre since 1797.
What size is the painting?
It is 30" in high by 20 7/8" wide (77cm by 53 cm)
What is it painted on?
Oil on a poplar wood panel.
How much is the painting worth?
It has no assigned monetary value. It is priceless.
Is the painting insured?
No. In the words of Estelle Nadau of the Louvre, "The Monna
Lisa is inestimable. She belongs to the French state,
which is its own insurer, that is the reason why she is not insured."
Why doesn't she have any eyebrows?
Her eyebrows may have been inadvertently removed during an early
cleaning and restoration. There is also the possibility that she may
have shaved or plucked them as was the fashion in her day.
Is it true that the Mona Lisa is really a self portrait of Leonardo da
Vinci?
That he would have painted himself as a woman is one of many theories.
It is widely accepted that the portrait is of Lisa Gherardini.
Who Stole The Mona Lisa?
On August 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian carpenter employed
at the Louvre stole the painting from the wall of the Salon Carré
where it hung between Correggio's Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine
and Titian's Allegory of Alfanso d' Avalos leaving only the 4 iron
pegs to which it was attached.(see crimes against Mona). It was
recovered 2 years later in 1913 when he attempted to sell it to
Alfredo Geri, a Florentine antique dealer.
Is it true someone tried to damage her?
On December 30th, 1956, a Bolivian named Ugo Ungaza Villegas, stared
at the Mona Lisa for awhile, then threw a rock at it, damaging a speck
of pigment near her left elbow.
Why Is She Famous?
Briefly, there are a variety or reasons:
a) It was painted by a much admired genius who possessed as much
mystique as his subject. It was a revolutionary painting using
innovative techniques contrapposto, sfumato, chiaroscuro and a
pyramidal composition. (see terms and definitions). It was admired as
a masterful work, regarded as such even in his lifetime, copied by
many painters including Raphael. The realism of the painting the
translucency of the flesh and the creativity of the background in
relation to the figure all contributed to this.
b) It was purchased by the King of France who kept it in his chateau,
The Fontainebleau, where it dazzled dignitaries and members of the
upper class. By the 1800's it was hanging in Napoleon's bedroom in
Tuileries until 1797 when it was moved to the Louvre. France was the
center of art and culture and in the Louvre it became accessible to
the masses for viewing.
c) With the advent of the printing press in the late 1800's, images of
the painting were reproduced and circulated all over as it made news.
When it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, there was a barrage of
world wide media attention which brought unprecedented familiarity to
all levels of society. When it was recovered in 1913 it made stops in
Italy for viewing with celebration, adulation and more media.
d) During the 19th century it was subject of poetry, plays and songs.
She was called a femme fatale adding intrigue and mystery to the
meaning of her smile.
e) In 1919, Dadaist, Marcel Duchamp painted a mustache and goatee on a
postcard to mock the painting This too, received a great deal of
attention and became Duchamp's most famous work of art. The Mona Lisa
became famous for being famous.
f) It toured the US in 1963 where a million and a half people rushed
to view it, toured Japan and Moscow in 1974 where over 2 million came.
Viewers left poems and flowers in front of the painting as if it were
a religious icon.
Blair
A.E. Gelat
question. I pronounce Lisa as Liza, but my wife says it should be Lissa.
Please help
Tony
"amesh (Mette)" <heindo...@usenetheindorffhus.dk> wrote in message
news:2oodheF...@uni-berlin.de...
amesh (Mette)
news:cgai2s$f...@library1.airnews.net...
> Mette, I consider you an expert on art, so I am sure you can answer this
> question. I pronounce Lisa as Liza, but my wife says it should be Lissa.
> Please help
Tony, you flatter me. Expert or not, I agree with neither of you -- I've
always pronounced it the way Nat King Cole did it in one of his evergreens,
Mona Leesa [much like Condoleeza], which is also the most "normal", at least
here in Europe. Hope this helps solve the Gordian Knot :-)
A.E. Gelat
wrong.
Tony
"amesh (Mette)" <heindo...@usenetheindorffhus.dk> wrote in message
news:2os4dcF...@uni-berlin.de...
amesh (Mette)
> Mette, in Italian, Lisa is almost certainly pronounced Liza, but I may be
> wrong.
Tony, I am not familiar with the lady's name in the Italian language, but
suspect that she is generally called La Ioconda there. What I have said
earlier means that Mona Leesa is the most "normal" way to say her name in
Europe (but not the only one). Personally I stick to the Nat-King-Cole-way:
Mona Leesa.
If there are any Italian collectors lurking around, please come out and let
us know your opinion.
Victor Manta
> "A.E. Gelat" <age...@kingwoodcable.com> skrev i en meddelelse
> news:cgbmk7$h...@library2.airnews.net...
> > Mette, in Italian, Lisa is almost certainly pronounced Liza, but I may
be
> > wrong.
>
> Tony, I am not familiar with the lady's name in the Italian language, but
> suspect that she is generally called La Ioconda there. What I have said
> earlier means that Mona Leesa is the most "normal" way to say her name in
> Europe (but not the only one).
> Ann Mette Heindorff (Mette)
I have asked on the news:soc.culture.italian and have got this answer in a
private e-mail:
It is pronounced as "Leeza" would be in English.
Some pronunciation of this name or of the equivalent ones in Europe:
- Liza, accent on "i", in Russian
- Looiza (Luiza), accent on "i", in Romanian
- Loois (Louise), accent on "i", in French
- Liza (Lisa), accent on "i", in German
BTW, it was the name of my mother in these languages, that she currently
spoke.
My Web page dedicated to Mona Lisa on stamps:
http://www.values.ch/Art-Gallery/Leonardo/Mona-Lisa/monalisa.htm
Victor Manta
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Victor Manta
news:2ou53dF...@uni-berlin.de...
> I have asked on the news:soc.culture.italian and have got this answer in a
> private e-mail:
> It is pronounced as "Leeza" would be in English.
>
> http://www.values.ch/Art-Gallery/Leonardo/Mona-Lisa/monalisa.htm
>
> Victor Manta
Here is another answer, from the same NG:
It should be pronounced something like Lee-sa, The "s" sounds a little like
the "z" but it is a smoother sound.
A.E. Gelat
was probably Italian, it is pronounced Liza. I think that should be the
correct one. I am familiar with Nat King Cole's song, and he makes her name
sound so artificial. Mette, in my opinion, that settles it.
Tony
"Victor Manta" <manvic_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2ou53dF...@uni-berlin.de...