She needs no introduction. A painting by the 16th century artist Leonardo da Vinci named after(as widely accepted) nobody in particular is probably one of the most discussed and controversial figures who never existed. Recently, I came across an article that really made me wonder if we are taking the Mona Lisa fascination a tad bit too far. I know all of you have already seen the painting but still I will insert it here, just to refresh your memories.
The article was about how a scientist discovered a discrepancy in one of the notable points of the paintings, that is, he discovered that Mona Lisa does have eyebrows. Apparently, for this discovery, he made a special 240 megapixel camera and observed the painting. His camera was able to peel off the layers of paint and finally, he found one hair of her eyebrow.
One hair
I got a question- how does it friggin matter? But history bares many such instances of people going to ridiculous levels in the name of research. Now let me tell you, this painting didn't exactly create a worldwide sensation when it was finished. It was only after the Symbology discussions emerged as a rage in 18th century that Mona Lisa became so famous. It was then that controversies started. I want to list out some of the fascinating ones-
1. Mona Lisa was real. She was based on a Florentine lady.
2. Mona Lisa was real. The painting was made after her kids died. The enigmatic smile is a result of comedians hired to amuse her during the process of making the painting.
3. Mona Lisa was fictional but when Da Vinci gifted it to a certain king, he went bonkers over her beauty and dedicated his life in search of this lady.
4. Mona Lisa was Da Vinci's muse.
5. Mona Lisa was pregnant.
6. Mona Lisa was painted in nude too. It was kept at the back of the original.
and so on.
But the most striking point of Mona Lisa, according to people, is her enigmatic smile. She is supposed to have this smug smile which suggests she is hiding something. Personally, I don't think much about the smile or the beauty but then, people worldwide beg to differ. Probably the most thankful to this phenomenon is Dan Brown who cashed millions from the smile. In late 2005, Dutch researchers from the University of Amsterdam ran the painting's image through "emotion recognition" computer software developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technology demonstration found the smile to be 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, 2% angry, less than 1% neutral, and 0% surprised.
Can you believe that?!
My point of debate- what do you think of Mona Lisa's smile? Is it intriguing for you too that it makes you think? Do you find Mona Lisa beautiful or would you too, like me, think of her as Mona aunty if she existed? Do you, like me, think she's grossly overrated?
The article was about how a scientist discovered a discrepancy in one of the notable points of the paintings, that is, he discovered that Mona Lisa does have eyebrows. Apparently, for this discovery, he made a special 240 megapixel camera and observed the painting. His camera was able to peel off the layers of paint and finally, he found one hair of her eyebrow.
One hair
I got a question- how does it friggin matter? But history bares many such instances of people going to ridiculous levels in the name of research. Now let me tell you, this painting didn't exactly create a worldwide sensation when it was finished. It was only after the Symbology discussions emerged as a rage in 18th century that Mona Lisa became so famous. It was then that controversies started. I want to list out some of the fascinating ones-
1. Mona Lisa was real. She was based on a Florentine lady.
2. Mona Lisa was real. The painting was made after her kids died. The enigmatic smile is a result of comedians hired to amuse her during the process of making the painting.
3. Mona Lisa was fictional but when Da Vinci gifted it to a certain king, he went bonkers over her beauty and dedicated his life in search of this lady.
4. Mona Lisa was Da Vinci's muse.
5. Mona Lisa was pregnant.
6. Mona Lisa was painted in nude too. It was kept at the back of the original.
and so on.
But the most striking point of Mona Lisa, according to people, is her enigmatic smile. She is supposed to have this smug smile which suggests she is hiding something. Personally, I don't think much about the smile or the beauty but then, people worldwide beg to differ. Probably the most thankful to this phenomenon is Dan Brown who cashed millions from the smile. In late 2005, Dutch researchers from the University of Amsterdam ran the painting's image through "emotion recognition" computer software developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technology demonstration found the smile to be 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, 2% angry, less than 1% neutral, and 0% surprised.
Can you believe that?!
My point of debate- what do you think of Mona Lisa's smile? Is it intriguing for you too that it makes you think? Do you find Mona Lisa beautiful or would you too, like me, think of her as Mona aunty if she existed? Do you, like me, think she's grossly overrated?