Brady Evans Assignment 1A Rhetorical Reflection Section HB McGough September 9, 2013 The Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vincis most

t famous painting, The Mona Lisa, has been speculated upon for the past five centuries. Everybody seems to have a separate opinion about da Vincis intention by painting the Mona Lisa. Joseph A. Harriss points this out in order to illustrate the paintings meaning in todays context versus the context of the 16th century in his article Seeking Mona Lisa. After reading his work it becomes clear that the overall significance of the Mona Lisa has diminished greatly after countless reproductions and parodies. The exact purpose that Leonardo da Vinci had for painting the Mona Lisa is completely unknown. The famous painting first appeared to the public at the Louvre Museum in Paris during the year 1519 after da Vinci had died. He originally painted it from 1503-1506 and kept it in his personal possessions for the remainder of his life. There was never any record kept by Leonardo that spoke of his purpose for creating the masterpiece. In attempt to investigate this, Harriss wrote, After reversing Leonardos self-portrait so the artist is facing to the left, then scaling the image and juxtaposing it with the Mona Lisa (whose subject also faces left) on the computer screen, Shwartz found that the noses, mouths, foreheads, cheekbones, eyes, and brows all line up (Harriss 152). This suggests that Leonardo incorporated some of his own facial features into the portrait, which raises the question: why was this action needed? Perhaps he was originally asked to paint a portrait of someone whom he lost contact with during the process of the portraits creation. Then, he finished by viewing his own facial features. This conclusion suggests that he intended it to be a portrait of someone for whatever they wished to do with it. After 500 years, this meaning has been changed drastically. Limitless reproductions of the Mona Lisa have been created. One particular parody of it in the textbook Convergences: Themes, Texts, and Images for Composition uses it as an advertisement for a nasal breathing product. It essentially pokes fun at the work of art by placing a breathing strip over the nose of the Mona Lisa and discoloring the painting in order to make it look as if shes suffering from allergies. It is reproductions such as this one that alter the meaning of the painting. After reading Harrisss article, another possible solution to the meaning of the painting comes to mind. His article points out that many people have been debating the purpose of Leonardos painting for almost 500 years. Perhaps that is what he wanted. It seems that he was attempting to make the claim that anything given the element of mystery will become successful in its own way. The Mona Lisa is a fairly simple painting. However, since it is not known why it was created, it was given an incredible amount of popularity. The popularity still remains today, but in a lighter context because of a great number of copies and imitations of the painting. Work Cited Harriss, Joseph A. Seeking Mona Lisa. Convergences: Themes, Texts, and Images for Composition. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 146-57