Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci in Florence, Italy. He was raised by his father, Ser Piero, and his stepmothers. When Leonardo was fifteen, he joined the studio of Andrea Del Verrocchio in Florence. Leonardo had no interest in women; he spent most of his time painting. He died on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67. Leonardo has been described as the archetype of Renaissance man, a man whose curiosity was equaled by his power of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and the most talented person to have lived. Leonardo painted one of the most known paintings in the world known as Mona Lisa. The painting was created in Florence Italy in 1503. This painting of Mona Lisa shows what appears to be a typical image of a woman in which wealth is not a primary thing on display. Her hands are crossed and she has a faint smile. Mona Lisa is looking directly at the viewer, which was something unusual for women in portrait at this time. There are several contexts that contributed to the creation of Mona Lisa. Some of them are historical context, religious context and literary context.
Mona Lisa painting represents the historical context because it is a representation of Renaissance art and it relates to more to everyday people. According to the teacher's website, SasChina states that, "back in the renaissance, everyone pondered about who this woman was. They didn't know her identity because in the Renaissance, many wealthy people hired artists to make art for them. This caused many of the renaissance painting to be wealthy patrons instead of famous and recognized people. Having the quality of being realistic is what makes Mona Lisa fit into the category of Renaissance." Many people during the renaissance were rich. People took their disposable wealth and bought things like art with it. Since most artists were not wealthy, Leonardo might have painted this famous painting of Mona Lisa so that wealthy people would buy it from him. Having the quality of being realistic is what makes Mona Lisa fit into the category of Renaissance. The reason artists wanted their artworks to be realistic was to steer away from the church and more into humanism. Going back to the website, Saschina also states that, "before the Middle Ages, most art work was focused on religion and the church. After the medieval times ended, the church didn't have power anymore. Since the church fell from control, most artists chose to create paintings that were not religious. Humanism also played a big part on making artwork look real. Artists went to Study anatomy. They would detect what shapes and angles it made and use the knowledge of painting". The ideas of creating a painting of a lifelike person and showing humanism during the Renaissance clearly inspired Leonardo Da Vinci to create the painting of Mona Lisa. In his painting humanism is depicted. The painting is realistic because it's detailed. When you take a look to the folding of her hand and the depiction of light, you might think that Mona Lisa is a photocopy of a person in real life. Because of being realistic, this painting can b put into the category of Renaissance arts
In Early 1500's, beauty was taken to be an expression of virtue. External beauty was an embellishment of virtue. Since this is depicted in Leonardo piece of art, it makes Mona Lisa fit in the religious context. According to UK website, "the separate of the dry landscape can be traced back to the religious painting of the Virgin Mary. It was common in for woman of a good descent to be depicted as a virtuous and beautiful. The positioning of her hands are symbols of a virtuous symbol and morally upright lifestyle. A very delicate veil covers the loosely draped hair; the dark dress is enriched by the vertical folds in the fabric; the dark yellow colored sleeves have a light glistening quality makes it look more beautiful. These details enrich the delicate character of the painting, associated with the examples of virtuous woman". The painting of Mona Lisa shows a depiction of what human valued. Back in the days 1500s, humans were perceived as virtuous and beautiful. When you look at the positioning of Mona Lisa's arms, you would think that she is virtuous. This shows how Leonardo was inspired to create a work of art about a virtuous woman. The smile of Mona Lisa reflects nothing but the idea of equal society. The international business times states that, “Mona Lisa was an activist favoring greater role for women in the Catholic Church. She supported the belief that female should be allowed to become priest. Calvary the place where Jesus was crucified rises from behind Mona Lisa's right shoulder, while Mount of Olives, from where he ascended to heaven. The fold of arms of the woman’s robe suggests yoke - a reference to women's oppression." From this, one can say that Leonardo painted Mona Lisa to show that the idea of the ideal society was based upon a universal recognition of woman to have rights of the priesthood of Jesus. Maybe that's why he made Mona Lisa have a faint smile just to reflect on this idea. His painting also does not shy away from the truth which is what a masterpiece. Leonardo proved this in his work of art by depicting the place where Jesus was crucified and the place of where Jesus went to heaven. Back in the days of renaissance, being virtuous was how people perceived beauty people wanted to live in equal society where they had right of priesthood of Christ.
The painting of Mona Lisa was made at a time when great literature was known. According to the article from Queen University, professor Kilpatrick states that, "Artists such as Leonardo took passage from literature and incorporated them into work of art. When Leonardo painted Mona Lisa, he was alluding to Horace's Ode 1. 22 (Integer vitae) and two sonnets by Petrarch (Canzoniere CXLV, CLIX). Like the Mona Lisa, those three poems celebrate a devotion to a smiling young woman, with vows to love and follow the woman anywhere in the world, from damp mountains to arid desert." Leonardo was clearly inspired by the three poems about the smiling women. He used the themes from these three poems and incorporated it in his masterpiece. As it is stated, he tried to create a painting about a smiling woman with a pledge to devotion. Leonardo's piece of art has images similar to those two poems. The article also states that, "The regions mentioned by Horace and Petrarch are similar to the background in the painting Mona Lisa. Both poets were read when Leonardo painted the picture in the early 1500s. Leonardo was familiar with the works of Petrarch and Horace, and the bridge seen in the background of the Mona Lisa has been identified as the same one from Petrarch's hometown of Arezzo." This tells us that Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, incorporates images inspired by the Roman poet Horace and Florentine poet Petrarch. It is clearly seen that the two poets gave Leonardo an inspiration to create his masterpiece known as Mona Lisa. If he was not inspired, he probably wouldn't have depicted the background similar to the region of Petrarch and Horace in his masterpiece. This technique of incorporating passage from literature and put it into an artwork was used by artists during the period of Renaissance invention.
Once and for all, religious, literary, and historical contexts really contributed and helped Leonardo Da Vinci begin the creation of Mona Lisa. His well painted masterpiece is the model of Renaissance and it is also realistic. It is an eye-catching painting about a virtuous woman sitting on the balcony. This painting is well-known around the world and lives the viewer’s wondering why Leonardo made it.
Mona Lisa painting represents the historical context because it is a representation of Renaissance art and it relates to more to everyday people. According to the teacher's website, SasChina states that, "back in the renaissance, everyone pondered about who this woman was. They didn't know her identity because in the Renaissance, many wealthy people hired artists to make art for them. This caused many of the renaissance painting to be wealthy patrons instead of famous and recognized people. Having the quality of being realistic is what makes Mona Lisa fit into the category of Renaissance." Many people during the renaissance were rich. People took their disposable wealth and bought things like art with it. Since most artists were not wealthy, Leonardo might have painted this famous painting of Mona Lisa so that wealthy people would buy it from him. Having the quality of being realistic is what makes Mona Lisa fit into the category of Renaissance. The reason artists wanted their artworks to be realistic was to steer away from the church and more into humanism. Going back to the website, Saschina also states that, "before the Middle Ages, most art work was focused on religion and the church. After the medieval times ended, the church didn't have power anymore. Since the church fell from control, most artists chose to create paintings that were not religious. Humanism also played a big part on making artwork look real. Artists went to Study anatomy. They would detect what shapes and angles it made and use the knowledge of painting". The ideas of creating a painting of a lifelike person and showing humanism during the Renaissance clearly inspired Leonardo Da Vinci to create the painting of Mona Lisa. In his painting humanism is depicted. The painting is realistic because it's detailed. When you take a look to the folding of her hand and the depiction of light, you might think that Mona Lisa is a photocopy of a person in real life. Because of being realistic, this painting can b put into the category of Renaissance arts
In Early 1500's, beauty was taken to be an expression of virtue. External beauty was an embellishment of virtue. Since this is depicted in Leonardo piece of art, it makes Mona Lisa fit in the religious context. According to UK website, "the separate of the dry landscape can be traced back to the religious painting of the Virgin Mary. It was common in for woman of a good descent to be depicted as a virtuous and beautiful. The positioning of her hands are symbols of a virtuous symbol and morally upright lifestyle. A very delicate veil covers the loosely draped hair; the dark dress is enriched by the vertical folds in the fabric; the dark yellow colored sleeves have a light glistening quality makes it look more beautiful. These details enrich the delicate character of the painting, associated with the examples of virtuous woman". The painting of Mona Lisa shows a depiction of what human valued. Back in the days 1500s, humans were perceived as virtuous and beautiful. When you look at the positioning of Mona Lisa's arms, you would think that she is virtuous. This shows how Leonardo was inspired to create a work of art about a virtuous woman. The smile of Mona Lisa reflects nothing but the idea of equal society. The international business times states that, “Mona Lisa was an activist favoring greater role for women in the Catholic Church. She supported the belief that female should be allowed to become priest. Calvary the place where Jesus was crucified rises from behind Mona Lisa's right shoulder, while Mount of Olives, from where he ascended to heaven. The fold of arms of the woman’s robe suggests yoke - a reference to women's oppression." From this, one can say that Leonardo painted Mona Lisa to show that the idea of the ideal society was based upon a universal recognition of woman to have rights of the priesthood of Jesus. Maybe that's why he made Mona Lisa have a faint smile just to reflect on this idea. His painting also does not shy away from the truth which is what a masterpiece. Leonardo proved this in his work of art by depicting the place where Jesus was crucified and the place of where Jesus went to heaven. Back in the days of renaissance, being virtuous was how people perceived beauty people wanted to live in equal society where they had right of priesthood of Christ.
The painting of Mona Lisa was made at a time when great literature was known. According to the article from Queen University, professor Kilpatrick states that, "Artists such as Leonardo took passage from literature and incorporated them into work of art. When Leonardo painted Mona Lisa, he was alluding to Horace's Ode 1. 22 (Integer vitae) and two sonnets by Petrarch (Canzoniere CXLV, CLIX). Like the Mona Lisa, those three poems celebrate a devotion to a smiling young woman, with vows to love and follow the woman anywhere in the world, from damp mountains to arid desert." Leonardo was clearly inspired by the three poems about the smiling women. He used the themes from these three poems and incorporated it in his masterpiece. As it is stated, he tried to create a painting about a smiling woman with a pledge to devotion. Leonardo's piece of art has images similar to those two poems. The article also states that, "The regions mentioned by Horace and Petrarch are similar to the background in the painting Mona Lisa. Both poets were read when Leonardo painted the picture in the early 1500s. Leonardo was familiar with the works of Petrarch and Horace, and the bridge seen in the background of the Mona Lisa has been identified as the same one from Petrarch's hometown of Arezzo." This tells us that Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, incorporates images inspired by the Roman poet Horace and Florentine poet Petrarch. It is clearly seen that the two poets gave Leonardo an inspiration to create his masterpiece known as Mona Lisa. If he was not inspired, he probably wouldn't have depicted the background similar to the region of Petrarch and Horace in his masterpiece. This technique of incorporating passage from literature and put it into an artwork was used by artists during the period of Renaissance invention.
Once and for all, religious, literary, and historical contexts really contributed and helped Leonardo Da Vinci begin the creation of Mona Lisa. His well painted masterpiece is the model of Renaissance and it is also realistic. It is an eye-catching painting about a virtuous woman sitting on the balcony. This painting is well-known around the world and lives the viewer’s wondering why Leonardo made it.