Greg Power Assignment 1A Rhetorical Analysis Section HA-McGough September 9, 2 1! Rewrite "or #o$ember 1, 2 1!

%he Mona &isa %he Mona &isa is one o" the most "amous paintings o" all time' (t li$es on in popular culture ) years a"ter being pro*uce* by the great &eonar*o *a +inci' Many recent artists an* a*$ertisers ha$e ta,en a*$antage o" the Mona &isa-s "ame by creating paro*ies to either ma,e a statement or to sell a pro*uct' Although the e.act circumstances o" *a +inci painting the Mona &isa are not certain, it is thought that he painte* the wi"e o" a "rien*' /a +inci-s painting has gone *own as one o" the greatest wor,s o" art o" all time, but that is not what he hope* to attain when he painte* it0 he simply painte* a woman "or a "rien* as they mo$e* into their new home' People $iewing the painting are not the inten*e* au*ience, but are still able to obtain most o" his message' %he original Mona &isa was painte* o$er many years, originally *esigne* as a portrait "or a "rien* o" *a +inci-s' %his means his original au*ience was going to be his "rien* an* the people that went to his "rien*-s home' Howe$er, *a +inci was *elaye* in "inishing the portrait, so this purpose was not "ul"ille*' (nstea*, "ollowing his *eath, the painting was inherite* by his pupil who sol* it to the ,ing o" 1rance' Here, it became appreciate* "or its artistic $alue, an* the rest, as they say, is history' Many repro*uctions an* ta,eo""s o" the Mona &isa are create* in present times' 2ne e.ample o" this is *isplaye* in the Convergences te.tboo,, which shows a nasal strip painte* on the Mona &isa in an a*$ertisement "or 3reathe Right' %his is *esigne* as a humorous alteration to a $ery serious original painting' 4hile *a +inci *i* not paint the Mona &isa "or commercial success, this a*$ertisement-s sole purpose is to increase sales "or the company' (mitations li,e this ta,e away "rom the original Mona &isa because they ma,e it seem li,e it is almost a paro*y o" itsel" 5 li,e the original painting wasn-t "inishe* an* we simply are witnessing a wor, in progress' 1reshman stu*ents at (owa State 6ni$ersity are ob$iously neither *a +inci-s nor a*$ertiser-s inten*e* au*ience' 3y repro*ucing the wor,s in a te.t boo,, rea*ers lose much o" the conte.t these wor,s were create* "or' 7aptions an* the te.t o" the boo, can ai* a rea*er in imagining what the inten*e* au*ience was suppose* to ,now, but it is no substitution "or the right person $iewing the art in the right time' /a +inci-s Mona &isa maintains much o" its inten*e* purpose as a serious art piece0 the paro*y a*$ertisements almost completely lose their $alue as the pro*ucts are either no longer "or sale or are not inten*e* "or rea*ers o" the boo,' Rea*ers simply see them as a humous ta,eo"" o" a masterpiece rather than a cle$er way to sell merchan*ise' /a +inci painte* the Mona &isa with a $ery abstract style o" art' %his is shown by the worl* "amous e.pression o" the woman painte*0 she has an e.tremely mysterious smile on her "ace an* it is almost impossible to name the emotion she is is "eeling in the portrait' %his helps us un*erstan* his purpose in painting her as he *i*' He allows us to see the e.pression as best "its what we want to see 5 instea* o" telling us how she "eels, he allows us to change her emotion as we see "it' 4hen we are happy we can see her as someone who is happy0 when we are not, we see her as wearing a wry, "a,e smile' Although *a +inci *i* not paint with people ) years in the "uture in min*, he is still able to communicate with us by letting us pro8ect oursel" onto the portrait'

%o*ay, the Mona &isa is as "amous as the Great 4all o" 7hina or the 9i""el %ower' Howe$er, *a +inci *i* not begin his painting as a wor, "or public "ame, an* he certainly ne$er coul* ha$e imagine* it woul* li$e on "or ) years with this much "ame' He "inishe* the wor, near the en* o" his li"e, an* only a"ter it was posthumously sol* *i* it start to garner worl*wi*e attention' %he mystery surroun*ing the woman in the painting intrigues $iewers an* will continue to *o so "or years to come0 howe$er, i" we remember to start with the painter an* the the painting-s beginnings, we are able to comprehen* much more than 8ust a smir,ing la*y'