Art Criticism
Art criticism refers to the analyzing and evaluating works of art, in art criticism we look at different forms of arts we view them in a business way. We look at what the piece of art represents that is the time the piece of done, the movement and the style. We look at each and every feature that makes art- art.
Leonardo Da Vinci's Artwork: The Mona Lisa
In this paper we are going to discuss Leonardo Da Vinci's artwork the Mona Lisa, this paper will be covering the techniques that were used in this work of art, the themes that emerge in this piece of work, the background in which it was painted, it is also going to look at the four stages that are considered in the criticism of art that is its description, its analysis, interpretation and the judgment of the piece of work. The Mona Lisa was painted by a very popular artist Leonardo Da Vinci. The art was drawn in oil on white colored Lombardy Panel Paper. It is an oil painting, the lady in this painting is Lisa Del Giocondo. The mystery that is contained in this painting has intrigued many because of how real it seems. This mystery has made the Mona Lisa one of the most known and recognized pieces of art in the entire universe. The woman in the painting is also the wife to Francesco Del Giocondo, every aspect of this portrait is a mystery such that people travel from far and wide to witness the great piece of art that is the Mona Lisa, to interpret and analyze the portrait one needs to have a very keen intellect to be able to deduce everything that there is to look at in the painting, this painting is dated to the 16th century before the demise of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Specifics of the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is one of the most popular works of Leonardo Da Vinci, the most specific parts of the Mona Lisa is the smile of the lady which is very mysterious, the atmosphere in the background, the pose, the facial expression. The layers of painting. In the painting, the woman is seated comfortably on a chair with her hands on one side placed softly and elegantly.
The Four Stages of Art Criticism
1. Description
The painting is placed on a 30 inch by 20.5 inches portrait, as earlier stated it was drawn in the 15th century between the year 1503 and 1506 a few years prior to Leonardo Da Vinci's death, the lady is resting on a chair. The chair has got pillars on both sides of the chair, on her head is long black hair, the other mysterious factor in the Mona Lisa is the absence of lashes and brows on her eyes. This could mean that maybe the colors used to strain these features have worn out such that there seems like it was never there this could have also happened during the cleaning of the Mona Lisa. Other notable features of the Mona Lisa is the protective, elegant yet soft way in which the woman places her hands on the arm of the chair she is seating on, this makes it look like there is space between the portrait and the painter, he clothes, as well as her brightly illuminated face, tell us something about the period when the portrait was done, she wears a dress and a veil, the veil is interpreted to mean that it was painted during the early years where a veil was in demonstration of purity and fidelity during those early centuries. In the background of the painting we are able to see the landscape which demonstrates a warm and dark color, it shows hard stones and a road, there is also water, a bridge and more rocks at a certain distance, the color of the landscape blends in with the color of the clothes she is wearing. At a closer looker of the painting the background seems wider and further, we can also see the horizon, from afar. It is said when the Mona Lisa is looked at in broad daylight and it seems even more beautiful. The background of the painting shows as if the skies and the rest of nature are in agreement with the painting, the viewer gets a feeling of a harmonious existence between the different aspects of nature and also the atmosphere, she is seated upright with the upper part only paying attention to her face and chest, the lower part displays her arms and her hands. Her face seems to demonstrate that she is young and yet very mature, her skin can be seen as fresh due to the technique of Sfumato which Leonardo Da Vinci seems to be a specialist in. in the face she seems as if she is deep in thought due to the flicker in her eyes, her gazes seems to be an interior gaze, maybe she is reminiscing something, in the painting she does not look at the viewer in the eyes rather seems to be looking further behind the viewer, this adds more mystery to the portrait because she seems to be in the portrait and her mind seems to be somewhere other than in the portrait. Her face appears smooth and with no wrinkles in spite of the flicker in her eyes making it seem not human but in a good way. Her hands, on the other hand, add to the mystery because they give nothing away, not even the fact that she is married which means she should have a ring, her hands are totally void and tell us absolutely nothing about the painting or its background. The way she has put her hands shows consistency and continues to depict the same harmony as was in the landscape of the portrait. The Sfumato technique used by the artist does not help us to interpret the mystery but rather adds to it since the technique creates shadows and hazy appearances. The use of the Sfumato method makes her seem beautiful and even angelic. Leonardo Da Vinci has painted more portraits of women during his time but they are more readable and expressive than the Mona Lisa which might mean that the inexpressiveness of the Mona Lisa was intentional. The Mona Lisa was a great contribution to the Renaissance period and, the artist was the greatest of the time. The Mona Lisa is in France and is a property of the government of France. Which makes France an attraction for many due to the presence of the painting in the country.
2. Analysis
The Mona Lisa is phenomenal for many reasons, its uniqueness makes it extra special and makes Paris a tourist attraction it is not only significant to Da Vinci as an artist but also to the history of the Renaissance, Da Vinci uses a seemingly realistic scale, the painting also depicts happiness from the half yet full smile of the woman in the painting. It lives the viewer trying to interpret the expressions on the painting making the painting even more beautiful from the aspect of enigma. Leonardo applies to light and luminosity, from a closer look at the portrait it shows that some of the layers of paint were applied with the use of his fingers with evidence of his fingerprints on the portrait, color is a very important aspect of a painting since it depicts different modes of a painting. Da Vinci has used different colors to strain different features of the painting with the presence of hazy blue colors in the background to demonstrate the sky and the water bodies, he uses dark colors to demonstrate the tough stones in the background. He coordinates the colors to a point where the landscape and the clothes seem to be in harmony making the painting even more beautiful. The use of the Sfumato technique makes it even better where the shadows appear hazy and smoky, they are not very clear, Leonardo uses just enough space to make the painting seem like it is at a distance from the surface, the background also speaks for this painting. The artist has used enough color, space, light, shadows and a perfect background to illustrate just enough of the features he needed the viewer to see therefore not giving away too much to the viewer, just demonstrating a few features to make and keep it interesting yet mysterious. This balanced use of different features makes the Mona Lisa a popular portrait in the world just placed in Paris in France, even if the Mona Lisa loses its popularity which may never happen, it is never going to lose its beauty and uniqueness among many pieces of art and portraits.
3. Interpretation
Interpretation is the third stage in the criticism of art which also plays an important role in the study of a piece of art. After a piece of art has been described and analyzed it has to be interpreted to gather what the artist was trying to represent using certain, different features in the artwork. Interpretation helps us to deduce the intentions of the artist on a piece of art. Interpretation helps us as the viewers to interpret why certain features were used, the characteristics that can be picked from the painting allow us to be able to determine what was happening in the historical setting of the painting, we get to know when the painting was done and the cultural setting of the community where the portrait was done. This aspect of interpretation also makes it easier for the viewers and critics to determine the theories and also the movements that have relationships with the portrait. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is not much different except for the fact that it is difficult to get much information from the painting. However, we can pick the historical setting of the time when the portrait was done by the clothes the woman was wearing, from the fact that the woman was wearing a veil is enough information to guide a critique to the fact that the drawing was done during the early centuries where the culture depicted that women should wear veils as signs of purity or faithfulness. The pose and facial expressions of the woman also give away information that is useful for the purpose of interpretation. The woman is seated in an upright position which tells a lot about the social settings of the time, this is to show that she is well-mannered and probably a woman from the noble class and definitely not to the workers class. Her fresh face, without blemish or wrinkles also tell us that she is not poor and she is able to nourish her skin, this features also help us to interpret facts such as the fact that she was a young woman and yet mature. The way she has set her arms and the fact that she is sitting on a chair with an armrest makes it easier to identify her in her social setting. As much as the portrait does not give away much since it is inexpressive, mysterious and secretive there definitely is enough information to help critiques interpret all the features in the drawing of Mona Lisa.
4. Judgment and Evaluation
The fourth and the last stage of the criticism of art is that of judgment also referred to as evaluation. In this stage, the critic is supposed to assess the quality of the portrait in question and discern where it falls among similar works. In this stage, the critic judges the art in reference to the ideas, styles, technical approach, and the period when it was drawn. Artists who belong in the same group may have certain principles and guidelines to help them stay in line with what is expected of them.
The evaluation of a piece of art may be made difficult by the fact that it is associated with the viewer's biases which often times interfere with the final judgment and it should not be the case. A good critic should separate his own personal opinions and give the painting a chance to speak for itself. In the judgment of the Mona Lisa, the same should be done, the differences in features should be used to categorize the painting into its movement. This may be difficult to do since it is very likely that the Mona Lisa is one of a kind and no other artists have had the ability to draw distinct and unique features using the Sfumato technique as applied by Leonardo Da Vinci. The Mona Lisa is an iconic representation of the culture in the western culture. The Mona Lisa carries a lot of secrets and mystery because it is difficult to get any information from the features of the painting itself. It is likely that these secrets may never see the light of day since the artist and the woman in the painting are no longer with us, this makes the Mona Lisa even more interesting.
The Title and Themes of the Mona Lisa
The title of this painting is the Mona Lisa comes from the story of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci which was written by Giorgio Vasari, he also like Da Vinci was a painter. The title of this piece of work, like just all of its other mysteries, is also a mystery because one cannot think about what a Mona Lisa is until they have had a look at the painting. The title of the painting does not give away any features or contents of the painting. Art is also related to theory, in that it is interpretive, it helps a critic understand the painting from a theoretical perspective and realizes its importance in the history of art. The Mona Lisa is one very important portrait in the history of art.
Art also includes themes that are easy to deduce such as the fact that the woman in the painting is mysterious in that veils were used in the time of mourning. This would mean there is a theme on the loss of life and suffering. The distant gaze of this woman may also go a long way to reinforce this theme, it might be the memory that is disturbing her. Then again there is a theme of irony in the way she is smiling if indeed she is mourning. Different paintings may contain different topics such as feminism, environmentalism, gender, structuralism, modernism, and modernism among many others.. the Mona Lisa carries the topics of gender since it is a woman who has been painted, it carries the topic of environmentalism in that the landscape represents different aspects of the environment that are rocks, rivers, the sky among many others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, art criticism is an important part of arts because other than criticizing artists, they also play an important role in the purchase and appreciation of pieces of art. Art criticism has made the Mona Lisa very popular due to its status of popularity and being so famous. As shown in the essay above. That is the description, analysis, evaluation, and judgment. This four stages are very important in assessing and analyzing pieces of work. Art criticism is also interrelated with theory. Many factors influence the kind of judgment that a critic is going to have by the end of the assessment of a piece of art. The Mona Lisa is a unique painting especially in the period between the 15th and the 16th century.
REFERENCES
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Teubner, R. (2017). The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism. Macat Library.
Clarke, M. (2017). Critical Voices: Women and Art Criticism in Britain 1880-1905. Routledge.
