MONALISA

1. What is the context of the art work?

 Fine Arts (Visual Arts)
-Because it expressed either by line, form, texture, value or color.
-The Mona Lisa tells a story without using words. It symbolizes all of Da Vinci's art
and the revolution that he brought about through it. It symbolizes a change in styles
and the development of the arts in general.

2. Context of art work are follows Artists background, Nature, Everyday life, Society,
Politics and Economy, and History, and The Mode of Reception
 Artist Background
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was a painter, architect, inventor, and student of all
things scientific. His natural genius crossed so many disciplines that he epitomized
the term “Renaissance man.” Today he remains best known for his art, including two
paintings that remain among the world’s most famous and admired, Mona Lisa and
The Last Supper. Art, da Vinci believed, was indisputably connected with science and
nature. Largely self-educated, he filled dozens of secret notebooks with inventions,
observations and theories about pursuits from aeronautics to anatomy.
 Nature
- Da Vinci used optical illusion to create a unique smile through perspective and
shadow work. Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in such a way that the eyes of the
Mona Lisa fall directly into the viewer's focus, while the lips fall just below the
periphery of vision.
 Everyday life
- In the 1490s, the Italian monk and writer Matteo Bandello observed Leonardo at
work on The Last Supper: He would arrive early, climb up on to the scaffolding, and
set to work. Sometimes he stayed there from dawn to sunset, never once laying down
his brush, forgetting to eat and drink, painting without pause.
 Society
- The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile has inspired many writers, singers, and painters.
 Politics and Economy
- On permanent display at the Louvre in Paris, the Mona Lisa was assessed at US$100
million on December 14, 1962. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would
be around US$860 million in 2020.
 History
- Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa about 1503, and it was in his
studio when he died in 1519. He likely worked on it intermittently over several years,
adding multiple layers of thin oil glazes at different times. Small cracks in the paint,
called craquelure, appear throughout the whole piece.
 Mode of reception
- The influence of the Mona Lisa on the Renaissance and later times has been
enormous, revolutionizing contemporary portrait painting.