Do you know, What is the price of Mona Lisa? Why is Mona Lisa so expensive?
Dear Curious Bugs,
Thank you so much for all the ‘whys’. The question selected for today’s segment is by Amey Haldankar. His question is fun and exciting as it will shed light on the perceived value of a painting which has baffled a lot of us. He asks –
Amey, I remember thinking the same when I last visited the Louvre (famous French museum where the Mona Lisa is displayed) in Paris. It was a small painting and there was such a big crowd in front of it that I could only get a glimpse. I thought what’s so special about this one when there are so many other grander art around. The truth is that Mona Lisa is not just expensive, it is priceless. Let us explore why –
1. French Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci painted Mona Lisa in the 16th century. Around 10 million tourist visit the Louvre every year to see the famous lady.
Renaissance: A period of European cultural, artistic, political, and scientific rebirth; transitional phase from the middle ages to the modern era that took place from 14th to 17th century.
2. The Mona Lisa was just another piece of beautiful art until 1911, when an Italian handyman at the Louvre stole it with the intention of taking it back to Italy. The news instantly became an international sensation with Mona Lisa’s face splashed across all the newspapers in the world. Famous artist Pablo Picasso was also a suspect in the case at one time. The French police tried to look for the painting for 2 years before retiring from the case. After 2 years, the thief sent a letter to the police, claiming to be Leonardo and revealing the whereabouts of the painting. The bold burglary, failure of the police, and the international coverage of the theft brought special attention to the case, making Mona Lisa the most recognisable painting in the world.
3. Mona Lisa has been surrounded with a lot of mysteries and marvels e.g. her enigmatic smile, her identity, and the technique used to paint her.
- Mona Lisa’s eyes and lips are her most prominent features. Leonardo created optical illusion by using colours such that the eyes seem to follow you and the smile gives the illusion of a mysterious smile. No one can say for sure if it is a happy, sad, or a deceptive smile.
- Leonardo created sfumato technique which translated to ‘without lines and borders’. He did not form an outline of the silhouette before filling in the colours but used colours to form the silhouette. The mountain and river landscape in the painting are also quite unusual.
- Some claim that the subject of the painting was Leonardo himself; female version of Leonardo Da Vinci.Mona Lisa was insured for $100 million in 1960. Now, it has the highest ever insurance value worth $860 million.
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