Why is the Mona Lisa without eyebrows? The main secret of Mona Lisa - her smile - still haunts scientists. The title of the painting is "Mona Lisa"

Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Mona Lisa" was painted in 1505, but it still remains the most popular work art. Still an unsolved problem is the mysterious expression on the woman's face. In addition, the picture is famous using unusual methods performances that the artist used and, most importantly, the Mona Lisa was stolen several times. The most notorious case happened about 100 years ago - on August 21, 1911.

16:24 21.08.2015

Back in 1911, the Mona Lisa, whose full name is “Portrait of Madame Lisa del Giocondo,” was stolen by a Louvre employee, Italian master on the mirrors of Vincenzo Perugia. But then no one even suspected him of stealing. Suspicion fell on the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, and even Pablo Picasso! The museum administration was immediately fired and the French borders were temporarily closed. Newspaper hype greatly contributed to the growth of the film's popularity.

The painting was discovered only 2 years later in Italy. Interestingly, due to the thief’s own oversight. He made a fool of himself by responding to an advertisement in the newspaper and offering to buy the Mona Lisa to the director of the Uffizi Gallery.

8 facts about Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa that will surprise you

1. It turns out that Leonardo da Vinci rewrote La Gioconda twice. Experts believe that the colors on the original versions were much brighter. And the sleeves of Gioconda’s dress were originally red, the colors just faded over time.

In addition, in the original version of the painting there were columns along the edges of the canvas. Later the picture was cropped, probably by the artist himself.

2. The first place where they saw “La Gioconda” was the bathhouse of the great politician and collector King Francis I. According to legend, before his death, Leonardo da Vinci sold “Gioconda” to Francis for 4 thousand gold coins. At that time it was simply a huge amount.

The king placed the painting in the bathhouse not because he did not realize what a masterpiece he had received, but quite the opposite. At that time, the bathhouse at Fontainebleau was the most important place in the French kingdom. There, Francis not only had fun with his mistresses, but also received ambassadors.

3. At one time, Napoleon Bonaparte liked the Mona Lisa so much that he moved it from the Louvre to the Tuileries Palace and hung it in his bedroom. Napoleon knew nothing about painting, but he highly valued da Vinci. True, not as an artist, but as a universal genius, which, by the way, he considered himself to be. After becoming emperor, Napoleon returned the painting to the museum in the Louvre, which he named after himself.

4. Hidden in the eyes of the Mona Lisa are tiny numbers and letters that are unlikely to be visible to the naked eye. researchers suggest that these are the initials of Leonardo da Vinci and the year the painting was created.

5. During World War II, many works from the Louvre collection were hidden in the Chateau de Chambord. Among them was the Mona Lisa. The location where the Mona Lisa was hidden was kept a closely guarded secret. The paintings were hidden for good reason: it would later turn out that Hitler planned to create the world's largest museum in Linz. And he organized a whole campaign for this under the leadership of the German art connoisseur Hans Posse.

6. It is believed that the painting depicts Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Gioconda, a Florentine silk merchant. True, there are also more exotic versions. According to one of them, Mona Lisa is Leonardo’s mother Katerina, according to another, it is a self-portrait of the artist in a female form, and according to the third, it is Salai, Leonardo’s student, dressed in a woman’s dress.

7. Most researchers believe that the landscape painted behind the Gioconda is fictitious. There are versions that this is the Valdarno Valley or the Montefeltro region, but there is no convincing evidence for these versions. It is known that Leonardo painted the painting in his Milan workshop.

8. The painting has its own room in the Louvre. Now the painting is inside a special protective system, which includes bullet-resistant glass, a complex alarm system and an installation to create a microclimate that is optimal for preserving the painting. The cost of this system is $7 million.

Portrait of a lady Lisa del Giocondo(Ritratto di Monna Lisa del Giocondo) was written by Leonardo da Vinci around 1503-1519. It is believed that this is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant from Florence. del Giocondo translated from Italian sounds like cheerful or playful. According to the writings of biographer Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo da Vinci painted this portrait for 4 years, but left it unfinished (however, modern researchers claim that the work is completely finished and even carefully completed). The portrait is made on a poplar board measuring 76.8x53 cm. Currently hanging in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Mona Lisa or Mona Lisa - the painting of the great artist is the most mysterious work of painting today. There are so many mysteries and secrets associated with it that even the most experienced art critics sometimes do not know what is actually drawn in this picture. Who is Gioconda, what goals did da Vinci pursue when he created this painting? If you believe the same biographers, Leonardo, at the time he painted this picture kept around him various musicians and jesters who entertained the model and created a special atmosphere, which is why the canvas turned out to be so exquisite and unlike all other creations of this author.

One of the mysteries is that under ultraviolet and infrared radiation this picture looks completely different. The original Mona Lisa, which was dug up under a layer of paint using a special camera, was different from the one that visitors now see in the museum. She had a wider face, a more emphatic smile and different eyes.

Another secret is that Mona Lisa has no eyebrows and eyelashes. There is an assumption that during the Renaissance, most women looked like this and this was a tribute to the fashion of that time. Women of the 15th and 16th centuries got rid of any facial hair. Others claim that the eyebrows and eyelashes were actually there, but faded over time. A certain researcher Cott, who is studying and thoroughly researching this work of the great master, has debunked many myths about Mona Lisa. For example, the question once arose about the hand of Mona Lisa. From the outside, even an inexperienced person can see that the hand is bent in a very bizarre way. However, Cott discovered the smoothed features of a cape on his hand, the colors of which faded over time and it began to seem that the hand itself had a strange unnatural shape. Thus, we can safely say that Gioconda at the time of her writing was very different from what we see now. Time has mercilessly distorted the picture to such an extent that many are still looking for secrets of the Mona Lisa that simply do not exist.

It is also interesting that after painting the portrait of Mona Lisa, da Vinci kept it with him, and then it went into the collection of the French king Francis I. Why, after completing the work, the artist did not give it to the customer remains unknown. Besides, in different time Various assumptions have been put forward as to whether Lisa del Giocondo is correctly considered the Mona Lisa. Women such as Caterina Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan, are still vying for her role; Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan; Cecilia Gallerani aka Lady with an Ermine; Constanza d'Avalos, also called the Merry or La Gioconda; Pacifica Brandano is the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici; Isabela Galanda; A young man in women's clothing; Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci himself. In the end, many are inclined to believe that the artist simply depicted the image ideal woman what she is in his opinion. As you can see, there are a lot of assumptions and they all have the right to life. And yet, researchers are almost one hundred percent sure that the Mona Lisa is Lisa del Giocondo, as they found a recording of one Florentine official who wrote: “Now da Vinci is working on three paintings, one of which is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini.”

The greatness of the painting, which is conveyed to the viewer, is also the result of the fact that the artist first painted the landscape and then the model itself on top of it. As a result (whether it was planned or happened by chance, it is unknown) the figure of Gioconda was very close to the viewer, which emphasizes its significance. The perception is also influenced by the existing contrast between the gentle curves and colors of the woman and the bizarre landscape behind, as if fabulous, spiritual, with the sfumato inherent to the master. Thus, he combined reality and fairy tale, reality and dream into one whole, which creates an incredible feeling for everyone who looks at the canvas. By the time of painting this painting, Leonardo da Vinci had achieved such skill that he created a masterpiece. The painting acts as hypnosis, the secrets of painting elusive to the eye, mysterious transitions from light to shadow, attracting demonic smile, act on a person like a boa constrictor looking at a rabbit.

The secret of Mona Lisa is linked to the most precise mathematical calculation of Leonardo, who by that time had developed the secret of the painting formula. Using this formula and exact mathematical calculations, from under the master’s brush came a work of terrifying power. The power of her charm is comparable to something alive and animate, and not drawn on a board. There is a feeling that the artist painted Gioconda in an instant, as if clicking a camera, and did not draw her for 4 years. In an instant, he caught her sly glance, a fleeting smile, one single movement that was embodied in the picture. How the great master of painting managed to figure it out is not destined to be revealed to anyone and will remain a secret forever.

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The absence of eyebrows on the lady depicted in the painting “La Gioconda” was first noted in 1817. French writer Henri Stendhal. And “La Gioconda” supposedly dates from the period 1503-1515.

There are now many versions of why eyebrows are absent (or not visible), here are some of them.

1st version:

Leonardo da Vinci in many portraits and paintings deliberately barely drew eyebrows in order to focus attention on the eyes, to highlight them, to emphasize them, to give the look mystery and significance (which he always succeeded in!)... So this seems to be his usual technique...

2nd version: it was just fashionable then!

“The fashion for a high shaved forehead with shaved eyebrows was indeed widespread among women in the 15th century in aristocratic circles in Italy, France and the Netherlands. The introduction of this custom is generally believed to be associated with the name of Isabella of Bavaria (1395).

A pale complexion, a slender “swan (snake) neck” and a high, clean forehead were considered beautiful. To lengthen the oval face, ladies shaved the hair above the forehead and plucked their eyebrows, and to make the neck appear longer, they shaved the back of their heads. A high, convex forehead was fashionable, and to create it, the hair on the forehead and back of the head (to create the effect of a long neck) was sometimes shaved into two or even four fingers, and the eyebrows were plucked. Cases of plucking eyelashes, both upper and lower, are also mentioned. ” – Wikipedia

Consider several female portraits painted famous artists middle ages from different countries, for the presence of eyebrows.

Netherlands: The lady who served as the model for Portrait of a Lady, painted by Rogier Van der Weyden in 1460, had her eyebrows either shaved or plucked.

France: Portrayed by Jean Fouquet in 1450, the famous courtesan Agnes Sorel, Dame de Beaute, mistress of Charles VII of France, also shaved her eyebrows. She was considered one of the most beautiful women of this era! Agnes is credited with introducing such innovations as the wearing of diamonds by uncrowned persons, the invention of a long train, and the wearing of very loose outfits that exposed one breast. Her behavior and open recognition of her relationship with the king often caused the indignation of the common people and some courtiers, but she was forgiven a lot thanks to the protection of the king and her perfect beauty, about which even the Pope said: “She had the most beautiful face that can be seen on this light."

Germany: And here is a portrait of the three almost eyebrowless duchesses Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia of Saxony, painted by the German painter of that era, Cranach Lucas the Elder, around 1535.

Portrait of his own brush “Mesalliance” - 1532

Netherlands: Rembrandt's famous “Portrait of Saskia with a Flower”, painted in 1641.

England: Indeed, such a fashion took place, and very high-ranking people followed it - for example, a portrait of the English Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603, by the way, she introduced the fashion for red hair) suggests that she too I also shaved my eyebrows.

That is, this fashion lasted for almost three centuries?

They say that the new is the well-forgotten old... And now it seems as if the fashion for shaved eyebrows is returning... “Gioconda’s forehead” is also asked from time to time by some modern fashionistas. Women remove hair from the back of their heads to make their necks look bigger and wear updos. Down with fused eyebrows: they say this is a sign of bad character...

Recently, at the fashion shows of luxury brands Balenciaga and Prada for the fall-winter 2009 season, stylists shaved the eyebrows of their famous highly paid models...

It is unknown whether this fashion will hit the streets - how it will be perceived modern people– after all, shaved eyebrows are still, just like in the Middle Ages, offered to the elite...

But the wife of a silk merchant, due to her social status, could not be considered an aristocrat! And did she even care about shaving her eyebrows, if (according to some versions) her attire is mourning? However, according to some information, her husband managed to make an outstanding political career in Florence in 1510 and over the next seven years he determined the fate of his hometown. Mona Lisa was his second or third wife. And either she was a big fan of high fashion of that time, especially since she lived in Florence - one of the largest cultural centers of that time, and imitated high-ranking fashionable persons, or...

3rd version:That's not her!

... or, after all, another lady served as the model - truly an aristocrat, for whom shaving her eyebrows was truly an indicator of her high origin, social status and almost a duty!

4th version: Leonardo's secret plan!

The absence of eyebrows is a sign that should attract the viewer's attention to solving Leonardo's code! You can watch this interesting and very beautiful version on the video The mystery of the Divine Gioconda Smile - The Mystery of Mona Lisa in the section VIDEO . It turns out that if you look at the picture correctly, an ephemeral image of a beautiful angel appears on it!

5th version: disease

Among the nobility of that time, deformities and countless childhood diseases, especially rickets, were common. There have never been so many cripples, hunchbacks and dwarfs as when the ideal of medieval beauty appeared - a small, fragile figure with a slightly swollen belly, emphasized by the style of the dress, a puffy pale face with a large convex forehead, without eyebrows and eyelashes - they were deprived because diseases. Modern doctors give many diagnoses to the lady depicted in the painting “La Gioconda” - and one of them is alopecia (lack of hair).

6th version: there were eyebrows after all!

TO THE GIACONDA SECTION

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Let’s turn to the same poor student: “What is the most famous picture Leonardo da Vinci"? Answer: “La Gioconda”, who would doubt it. But before Gioconda, Leonardo painted several more Madonnas, who cannot be accused of a lack of individuality, unlike their predecessors. Leonardo's Madonnas are quite bodily, feminine, dressed in accordance with secular fashion. Madonna with a Flower, or “Madonna Benois,” named after its Russian owners, the Benois family. From this picture you can judge how tastes have changed over just three or four centuries! Please note, dear friends, how differently its contemporaries and art critics of the 20th century respond to this painting!

M. F. Bocchi, in his book “Sights of the City of Florence,” published in 1591, said:
“A tablet painted in oil by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci, excellent in beauty, depicting the Madonna with the utmost skill and diligence. The figure of Christ, represented as a child, is beautiful and amazing, his uplifted face is one of a kind and amazing in the complexity of the plan and the way this plan is successfully resolved.”

In 1914, the Imperial Hermitage acquired this painting from Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of the court architect Leonty Nikolaevich Benois.

The authenticity of Leonardo's painting was reluctantly confirmed by the greatest authority of the time, Bernard Berenson:
“One unfortunate day I was invited to examine” Madonna Benoit" A young woman with a bald forehead and puffy cheeks, a toothless grin, myopic eyes and a wrinkled neck looked at me. An eerie ghost of an old woman plays with a child: his face resembles an empty mask, and a bloated body and limbs are attached to it. Pathetic little hands, stupidly vain folds of skin, color like serum. And yet I had to admit that this terrible creature belongs to Leonardo da Vinci...”

What is it, dear Leonardo fans? But here is another Madonna - “Madonna Litta”. It’s hardly possible to discredit her beauty
This painting was painted for the rulers of Milan, after which it passed to the Litta family, and was in their possession for several centuries. private collection. The original title of the painting was “Madonna and Child.” Modern name the painting comes from the name of its owner - Count Litt, owner of the family art gallery in Milan. In 1864, he approached the Hermitage with an offer to sell it. In 1865, along with three other paintings, the “Madonna Litta” was acquired by the Hermitage for 100 thousand francs. Here, thank God, there is no such derogatory review about her as about poor Madonna Benoit.

And yet, in addition to compositional design and authorship, these Madonnas have one more unusual similarity. Pay attention to the foreheads. During this era, women not only plucked their eyebrows, but also shaved the hair on their foreheads and even temples.

Such was the influence of fashion. And although “following fashion is funny,” “not following is stupid.” Apparently that's why Gioconda looks like this.

The fashion for a highly shaved forehead with shaved eyebrows was widespread among women in the 15th century in aristocratic circles in Italy, France and the Netherlands. The introduction of this custom is generally believed to be associated with the name of Isabella of Bavaria (1395)

Quite serious historians claim that Isabella of Bavaria introduced the fashion for high headdresses - genin, in which not a single strand of hair should be knocked out. Allegedly, she had ugly hair - black, dull and coarse, and she hid it this way. And she forced them to hide the others, who, perhaps, had no need to do so. So, dear ladies Before you blindly follow a fashion, think first about who introduced this fashion and why. Isabella of Bavaria is also credited with inventing the neckline. The skin on her chest, eyewitnesses said, was incredibly tender. In this portrait we will not see any black hair or cleavage. But this doesn’t mean anything, a medieval portrait is not a photograph. But the fashion for all these innovations lasted for more than a century.

There is also a version that in the Middle Ages, due to extreme low level life (poor nutrition, lack of vitamins, etc.) the disease rickets spread everywhere like an epidemic. Balding of the front of the skull is one of the symptoms of rickets. Therefore, the absence of eyebrows and hair on the forehead, of necessity, “came into fashion.” Many researchers also consider the absence of eyebrows and eyelashes in Mona Lisa to be a manifestation of a disease (either rickets, or schizophrenia, or an even more serious pathology). But, be that as it may, Gioconda exists quite triumphantly, despite all these unflattering assumptions.

Let's look at some female portraits, painted by famous medieval artists from different countries, for the presence of eyebrows. Again, by the way! When talking about the Renaissance, they most often mean Italian Renaissance, forgetting about the North - no less diverse and significant. Now you will see several paintings by artists Northern Renaissance, depicting equally eyebrowless ladies. Here is a portrait of the three almost eyebrowless duchesses Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia of Saxony, painted by the German painter of that era, Cranach Lucas the Elder, around 1535 (Germany)

A pale complexion, a slender “swan (snake) neck” and a high, clear forehead were considered beautiful. To lengthen the oval face, ladies shaved the hair above the forehead and plucked their eyebrows, and to make the neck appear longer, they shaved the back of their heads. To create a high, convex forehead, the hair on the forehead and back of the head (to create the effect of a long neck) was sometimes shaved into two or even four fingers, and the eyebrows were plucked. Cases of plucking eyelashes, both upper and lower, are also mentioned.

Rogier van der Weyden Portrait of a Lady 1460 Netherlands: The lady who served as the model for the Portrait of a Lady, painted by Rogier van der Weyden in 1460, also has her eyebrows shaved or plucked.

Portrayed by Jean Fouquet (France) in 1450, the famous courtesan Agnes Sorel, favorite of Charles VII of France, also shaved her eyebrows. She was considered one of the most beautiful women of this era!

Agnes Sorel is credited with introducing such innovations as the wearing of diamonds by uncrowned persons and the invention of the long train. She also brought into fashion very freestyle outfits that exposed one breast. Her behavior and open admission of a relationship with the king often caused resentment common people and some courtiers, however, she was forgiven a lot thanks to the protection of the king and her perfect beauty, about which even the Pope said: “She had the most beautiful face that can only be seen in this world.” As you can see, this lady's forehead and temples are shaved so high that they reveal more than half of her skull, which, judging by the image, is truly perfect.