Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you.
You’re so like the lady with the mystic smile.
Is it only ‘cause you’re lonely they have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?
Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there.
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art?
– Nat King Cole
I will be basing part of this unit’s class on Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon, Harcourt, 2001. For background reading prior to Thursday’s class:
- read Chapter One from Becoming Mona Lisa (uploaded here).
Click here for a PDF chapter from this book: Becoming Mona Lisa – PDF - read what you can on Leonardo da Vinci.
I’d suggest first looking him up on www.artchive.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Ha! The home page used the painting as an icon! You’ll find more inside…
Respond to this question. Your response should be approximately 750 words.
The
Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting. In fact, ‘she’ is the most famous painting in the world. She is even considered to be the most famous
work of art in the world.
Why do you think she’s become so famous? Do you think the original painting has been enhanced or diminished by this change in status? Explain how. (50 points)