REPRESENTATIONS (3/10)
We discussed how representations are portrayal or likeness of something. The infamous painting The Mona Lisa is an oil painting representing Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, the individual who commissioned the painting. The painting itself over time has become to represent among other things artistic excellence. However, the legacy of the Mona Lisa has grown to so much more, It has become associated with the legendary “eye-following” myth, and is often associated with mystery around her disposition; her smile. After seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the first reaction that many of my friends and I had was that the Mona Lisa was significantly smaller than we expected; what its representation had formed our mind-set to expect. Although in actuality it was probably larger than we assumed since we were distanced for security reasons, the Mona Lisa was so small and so far that it was hard to appreciate it. Other works which were larger and approachable seemed more significant. I often compare the hype surrounding the Mona Lisa compared to the hype of leaning tower of Pisa. The Tower is amazing, however it is significantly smaller than one would imagine. Furthermore, the fact that Pisa’s soil is so weak that every building in Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo is essentially sinking. This certainly takes away from what we expect from the Tower. I believe it is learning about these things and actually going to see them in person is what makes them interesting.
