Mona Lisa Smile
I’ve been to the Louvre Museum in Paris. I’ve seen the Mona Lisa. I was surprised by how small it was. The day I went, a dozen people were viewing the painting. I was a bit underwhelmed. I spent less than five minutes with the painting. In the next room to the right, I was touched by a large painting of a husband and his wife who had died. Death was pulling her body into a chasm, and the husband was holding on and trying not to let her go.
I thought this painting was far more powerful than the Mona Lisa. I spent a half-hour with the painting of death—I would have spent more time if there had been a place to sit, and then I went back to the Mona Lisa room for a minute. Yes, they speak of an enigmatic smile—not a full smile, a subtle, reserved sort of smile. I studied the most famous painting in the world to see if I could unravel the mystery of the smile.
The Smile in the Atlanta Airport
They Were Beautiful and Clearly in Love
Sitting in the Atlanta Airport one day, I watched a young couple. They were fascinating, beautiful, and clearly, clearly, passionately in love. I’d go back to my book and look up five minutes later. The couple drew energy in; the whole airport revolved around them. It was a long layover. I read half the book. They were there a long time. Nothing changed in the two hours I sat until he got up to get food.
I could see the change immediately. The temperature in the room cooled. She cooled. She looked different. She was different. The smile was gone. This beautiful young woman, who, as part of this couple, was so alluring moments before was now plain. They, as a couple who had made it difficult to stay focused on my book, were gone.
It was love, love, love. It also, though, was the smile. The smile melted the hearts of all who were there. They were beautiful together. When he came back with hamburgers, fries, and cokes, she beamed again, and the room warmed with their smiles.
On August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre Museum. It’s loss at the time and its recovery are part of what made the Mona Lisa famous. The enigmatic smile is also, however, a huge part of the painting’s enduring popularity.
In a new book, The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: The Complete Story of the World’s Most Famous Artwork, the art historian, Noah Charney, dissects the robbery, throwing new light on why and how Vincenzo Peruggia, a museum employee, stole the painting only for it to be recovered two years later when he tried to sell it to an antique dealer in Florence called Alfredo Geri.
Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa may be one of the most beloved artworks in the world. Seen by millions of people each year. It is considered to be the crown jewel of the Louvre’s collection, an iconic work of the Renaissance.
Part of the reason the Mona Lisa is known worldwide is because of its theft in 1911 by the Italian handyman, Vincenzo Peruggia. That year, Peruggia and two others stowed themselves away in a closet of the Louvre, hung around until the museum closed, and then took the painting, which at the time was considered a minor work by Leonardo, with them, hopping on a train out of Paris. As the theft gained more and more press, both within France and outside it, Peruggia held on to the work, at one point stashing it beneath the footboards of his Paris apartment. A little over two years after the theft, Peruggia made an attempt to sell the work to a dealer in Florence in an attempt, he believed, to bring back to Italy a treasure that it had lost. The proposed sale backfired when the dealer called the director of the Uffizi Galleries.
The Secret Behind Mona Lisa’s Smile
I’ve long been enthralled by da Vinci and his work, but I have a newfound admiration for this masterpiece after recently reading a fascinating passage from Glennon Doyle’s bestselling book, Untamed, which focuses on this renowned face.
Doyle wrote that while visiting the Mona Lisa room at the Louvre Museum, she was approached by a random woman who offered to share a theory. Doyle recounted what she was told:
“Mona Lisa and her husband lost a baby. Sometime later, her husband commissioned this painting from da Vinci to celebrate the birth of another baby. Mona Lisa sat for Leonardo to paint her, but she wouldn’t smile during the sitting. Not all the way. The story goes that da Vinci wanted her to smile wider, but she refused. She did not want the joy she felt for her new baby to erase the pain she felt from losing (one prior)”
The Mona Lisa is perhaps the most widely recognized, captivating, and enigmatic painting in the world. The artist Leonardo da Vinci died over 500 years ago, but his work still commands the world’s attention and is the subject of ongoing speculation surrounding his subject, especially her smile.
Portland Museum of Art Collections
The Mona Lisa
Forty years ago, the Portland Museum of Art had a special unveiling of a Mona Lisa and what they believed had been one of four done by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo often did a practice painting before working on the official painting. At the time of the showing in the early 1980s I believe the painting had been gifted to them. I attended their showing. I was a bit disappointed with how dusty and old the painting appeared to be. It was a subdued, ghostly grey.
My reaction may have been somewhat a measure of my lack of sophistication. I was expecting something so much more grand. It would be several years before I saw the original Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Even though the colors were brighter, again, I was disappointed. The Mona Lisa is considered the most important painting in the world the enigmatic smile plays a huge part in the worldwide popularity and appeal of this painting.
There Are 11 Diamonds
in The Mona Lisa Smile Necklace
The Number 11 Holds Special Significants in Numerology
The number 11 is a master number signifying intuition and enlightenment. It represents a new beginning, the start of a new phase of life, or the imminence of positive events.
Balance:
The number 11 is said to represent balance and encourage people to maintain harmony in their thoughts, actions, and relationships. It’s thought to contain both sun and moon energy and signal a need to balance emotions, thoughts, spirits, masculine and feminine aspects, and work and play.
Creativity:
The number 11 is said to represent creativity. People with the number 11 in their numerology charts are profound creatives who feel most fulfilled when they balance analytics and art. Their souls are thought to express the qualities of both independence and drive, as well as grace and love.
With 11 diamonds, and as the hardest substance in the universe, this necklace holds many powerful symbols.
Mona Lisa Smile
Diamond Necklace
A smile is our soul’s welcome to the world.
A smile says who we are inside
and says there’s room for everyone.
A smile always gives; it’s ready to receive, too.
When I first saw this necklace, I thought of my week in Paris, my two days at the Louvre Museum and the time I spent with the Mona Lisa, and yes, her enigmatic smile. This is a simple necklace with eleven natural earth-mined diamonds, on a bold gold woven wheat chain.
Name: Mona Lisa Smile
Style#: G5001, G5002, G5027, G5034
Precious Metal: 14K Yellow & White Gold
Gems: 11 Diamonds = over 3/4 carat total weight
Measurement: Diamonds span 1 ¼ inch
Chain: 14K Yellow Gold wheat, overall length is 17 inches
Price: $3,450
AU 25
