I had been looking at Leonardo da
Vinci’s Mona Lisa for a long time wondering why people admired that painting so
much when Mona Lisa started talking. There is really nothing much surprising
about Mona Lisa talking. My cat, Bobs, talks to me. The images of deities in
holy places talk to me when I care to visit them. Sometimes a flower in my
garden talks, the stream in the village does, and the cloud in the sky too. If
you care to listen, even the grain of sand outside your house will talk to you.
You wonder
why an apparently bland woman like me caught the fancy of the world, Mona Lisa
said. I couldn’t make out whether it was a statement or a question. It was like
her smile: neither here nor there.
I wouldn’t
use the word ‘bland,’ I said.
You don’t
have to be so deferential, she said. Men hardly gave us any respect in
our days.
Is that why
your smile is not so… happy?
Was happiness
permitted to us? Mona Lisa asked. Everything we did was controlled by the
conventions that men set up. Even our smiles. We were supposed to be exemplars
of chastity, modesty, sobriety, reticence and obedience. Leonardo tried his
best to make me smile better than this. He gave up in frustration. He couldn’t
smile himself, the wretch. He always looked like someone whose consciousness
didn’t belong to him.
I recalled
that Leonardo da Vinci was an illegitimate son of Ser Piero who seduced a
peasant woman. But Ser Piero was noble enough to take Leonardo into his care. The
boy found ways to educate himself and opportunities to develop his artistic
skills. He was not treated as a legal offspring, however. How could his heart
belong to him?
His heart was
in the right place, alright. Mona Lisa corrected me. It was
his mind that didn’t stay with him. His mind was always seeking something. Do
you know how many times he made me sit in different places, in different kinds
of light, before he started painting me? He never seemed happy with anything.
How could I smile any better though I quite liked the man?
Mona Lisa
reminded me of the Duchess in Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess. A
duke in Italy, Mona Lisa’s country – and time too – is going to marry. The poem
is his speech to the person who is bringing the alliance. The duke tells the
emissary about his former wife, the duchess who is now no more. Her painting is
there on the wall: a beautiful young lady “looking as if she were alive.” She
was a very gentle and sweet person who smiled genially at everyone. What
happened to her? The duke “gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”
The duke
ordered her death because she smiled at everyone. Her smiles should have been
reserved for her husband only. Reticence!
I shuddered.
Did Mona Lisa’s husband demand the same? Was that the reason for the reluctance
of her smile?
Her answer was another smile which was as mysterious as the one in the Da Vinci painting.
PS. This post is part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023
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I had no idea of Leonardo Da Vinci being an illegitimate child. I wonder how much his skills would have soared had he been given his due respect!
ReplyDeleteDeath sentence because of smiling? This is utterly depressing. Part of the reason why I don't dive into the history of that era.
www.docdivatraveller.com
Great people like Da Vinci initiated the Enlightenment. It was a dark world until then.
DeleteHello, it is said that the Mona Lisa is the artist's self portrait. Also, I recently heard that the Mona Lisa was stolen ages back and finally returned, which did a lot for its PR in those days, making it the priceless painting it is. I have seen the original in the Louvre. It is much smaller than expected. As for patriarchy, it still exists!
ReplyDeleteThere are many theories and stories about that painting. Dan Brown alone gave us a lot to wonder about.
DeletePatriarchy still exists. As do so many forms of authority. People like to exercise power over others. We call it democracy or whatever. Nowadays I come across a lot of women who think that the solution to patriarchy is matriarchy: just invert the power structure!
Mona Lisa...I don't see the appeal. But also I dont have an eye for that stuff. It does show the reticent smile expected of women in that age, so to see that reflected in the painting does give it value but then again what was Da Vinci seeing...only he knows. But the legends and myth surrounding make it so interesting...
ReplyDeleteDa Vinci had a lot of secrets up his sleeve. This painting was probably more than a painting.
DeleteThis is a very beautiful writeup on how women in most societies are forced into subservience to men's whims and fancies. And what an explanation you have given for Monalisa's rather mild and dim smile!
ReplyDeleteWomen were ill- treated almost all over the world, including India, in those days.
DeleteI've been to the Louvre (multiple times) and refuse to step inside because I fail to understand the fascination behind this painting and wait hours to catch its glimpse for a few minutes that too an unsatisfactory one.
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather read a piece like this on its history, or read a book like The Da Vinci Code.
Thank you for this 👏🏻
Medieval history is alluring, I should say bewitching. The Louvre won't ever give you that charm, I'm sure.
DeleteThat was a fascinating read. I wonder what Mona Lisa would say to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you two will have a far sweeter conversation. 😊
DeleteLovely how you brought together Mona Lisa and My Last Duchess. A very interesting take on the mysterious smile.
ReplyDeleteBoth are fabulous characters.
DeleteLoved how you reflected upon the mysterious smile. I hope Monalisa too reads this and wonder what would she feel !
ReplyDeleteShe will smile mysteriously 😊
Delete