Film Blog: Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan’s greatest animation directors. Miyazaki’s animated films contains “entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking animation” according to IMBd’s description, “Hayao Miyazaki.” Miyazaki created many popular animated films like Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and Ponyo (2008).

The animated movie made a total of gross of $2.2 million (USA) on December 17, 1999. Princess Mononoke is rated PG-13 and is about 134 minutes long. The film also lands on Animation, Adventure and Fantasy in terms of genre.

Princess Mononoke is about a “confident young warrior” named Ashitaka, who happened to run into a “rampaging boar-god/demon,” while protecting his village, which is when he “is stricken be a deadly curse” according to IMBb’s “Princess Mononoke.” It also mentions that within the story, to save himself from the curse, “he must journey to west” to find a way to get rid of the curse. Once he reached the west, “he’s embroiled in a fierce campaign that humans were waging on the forest.” Ashitaka met an “ambitious Lady Eboshi and her Loyal clan use their guns against the gods of the forest and a brave young woman, Princess Mononoke, who was raised by a wolf god.” Through out the story, Ashitaka tries to make both teams at peace.

I choose this animated film because the big talking animals like the wolf god is what attracted me to watch the film when I was little. From this Youtube clip, you can hear the audio of the wolf god’s voice within different clips from the movie. The curse from Ashitaka also attracted me to watch the film to find out how the main character will find a solution to his problem. Here is another clip from the movie:

From this clip, you can see how the hatred from these groups of people fighting for the forest life somehow makes his curse worse than it already is. How the director made the curse more alive by revealing how the curse kind of looks like when it came out the character’s arm super-naturally makes the audience sympathizes with Ashitaka.

The unique designs of the setting and the characters are very eye attracting. For example, the Forest Spirit:

The Forest Spirit is the most important character in the animated film because it is the reason why Ashitaka has traveled for distances to hopefully let the Forest Spirit to lift his curse. In the film, the Wolf god informed the main character that the Forest Spirit either takes or gives lives to any living thing. In terms of transformation of its appearance, it appears as a deer-like animal during the day and changes into a “Night Walker,” during the night.

During most of the story, Both humans and the animal gods fight against each other for the sake of the forests life during the feudal era somewhere in Japan.

The Wolf God

The Boar God

The Forest Guardians

The characters who were against the gods eventually learned that keeping the forest alive was important but before they have realized it, most people and gods had to die at the end of the film.

Within the film, you can see how detailed the animation was throughout the story and how the plotting of the story was clever and surprisingly unique. My reaction to this film was that it made me want to watch it over and over again because it was a unique way to influence people to take care of the environment spiritually.

Lady Eboshi was voiced by Minnie Driver, which she has done it beautifully. Minnie Driver also acted in film like Come Back To Me and The Phantom of the Opera. The way she voiced Lady Eboshi in the film was great and her voice played the character perfectly. The way she had done the “evil laugh” through out the film was very believable.

In terms of the music withing the film, Hisaishi has done most of it for the animated film. In Soundtrack.net’s “Princess Mononoke,” here is a description of Hishaish’s work from the Website:

“Hisaishi’s score is a fusion of ethnic instruments, orchestra, and vocals and represents multiple emotions in its many cues. In 1999, Milan Records released a second album containing symphonic suites from Hisashi’s music performed by the Chech Philharmonic Orchestra. The score is broken up into concert suites and allows the orchestrations to be filled out without the hindrance of film editing and make for a wonderful listen for fans of the original score.”

Here is where you go for the list of songs from the film:http://www.soundtrack.net/album/princess-mononoke/

Work Cited

“Princess Mononoke.” IMBb. Web. 2013. <www.imdb.com/tittle/tt0119698>

“Hayao Miyazaki.” IMBd. Web. 2015. <www.imbd.com/name/nm0594503/?ref_=tt_ov_dr>

“Princess Mononoke Soundtrack.” Soundtrack.net. Web. 2015. <www.soundtrack.net/album/princess-mononoke/>

Art That Pops : Pop Art

Pop art began during the 1950s in Britain then eventually in the United States in the late 1950s according to Wikipedia’s “Pop Art.” it also mentions that pop art “presented a challenge to traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular culture such as advertising, news, ect,” which are removed from their original place and “isolated, and/or combined with unrelated material.” the idea of this type pf art is to reveal the artist’s attitude towards anything.

Roy Lichtenstein was an American pop artist who was well known for his “bodly-colored parodies of comic strips and advertisements” according to Biography’s “Roy Lichtenstein.” He was born in NYC and raised in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Lichtenstein became “a leading figure of the new Pop Art movement” in the 1960s. It also mentions that he was inspired “by advertisements and comic strips” when he began his “bright, graphic works parodied American popular culture and the art world itself.” Lichtenstein died in NYC on September 29, 1997.

Mirror I by Lichtenstein was created in 1977 and was one of his “experiments with the graphic representation of reflection” while he created this art according to The Art Story’s “Most Important Art.” It claims that Lichtenstein was “fascinated by the abstract way in which cartoonists drew mirrors, using diagonal lines to denote a reflective surface.” The art is currently in San Francisco Museum of Art, CA. It also mentions Lichtenstein commented on diagonal lines that are used for reflective appearance: “Now, you see those lines and you know it means ‘mirror’ even though there are obviously no such lines in reality. It is a convention that we unconsciously accept” I think this sculpture is very cool. From Lichtenstein’s comment on his art, it made me wonder how and why people “unconsciously accept” the lines within a mirror in a cartoon, which is interesting to think about. it also fits perfectly to the theme of Pop art because this type of technique is usually used in comic books and/or advertisement.

Glass IV by Lichtenstein was completed by 1976 and is currently in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. This sculpture is what Lichtenstein had created in a way for comic like art to come into reality. the lines and colors are supposedly reflections of light in terms of a comic world, which was popular during the 20th century. I would like to see this in person and see where the lines and colors are painted on the glass cup.

Another sculpture by Lichtenstein, Women: Sunlight Moonlight, was created in 1996 and currently standing in the lobby of City Hall (New York) according to Lichtenstein Foundation’s “Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall.” It mentions that the sculptures “shows a woman’s head and shoulders half obscured by a shadow and, on the opposite side, lit by sunlight.” I would imagine that Lichtenstein had created the two sculptures to show audiences that a woman character within a story has two sides to her story. Again, I do think that he had created this to make the comic world more alive.

Andy Warhol was a “successful magazine and ad illustrator who became a leading artist of the 1960s Pop Art movements” according to Biography’s “Andy Warhol.” It mentions that Warhol also done “a wide variety of art forms including performance, film making, video installations and writing.” Warhol was born August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in 1987 in New York.

Andy Warhol was supposedly obsessed with celebrity, consumer culture and mechanical production. Like his many obsessions, Warhol’s Diamond Dust Shoes shows that he also loved advertising for fashion. This piece was created in 1980 and is currently in display in Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. According to Vegas Magazine’s “Andy Warhol’s ‘Diamond Dust Shoes,'” the piece “heightens the sense of glamor, fashion, and money – three things Warhol famously appreciated.” This piece related to Pop art because the style of shoes in the piece were very popular during the 20th century, which they still are I assume. The different faded colors looks perfect on top of the sparkly black background in my opinion.

Moonwalk by Andy Warhol was created in 1987 and is published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc, New York. This piece is based on Warhol’s composite of two NASA photographs taken by Neil Armstrong of Edwin Aldrin Jr. on the moon for the first time in 1969, which was the Apollo 11 Mission. I like this piece by Warhol because it reminds me of MTV’s old Logo, which is cool. This was popular in terms of art because everything was changing in fashion, entertainment, and in history.

Warhol’s San Francisco Silverspot was created in 1983 that “portrayed endangered animals from around the world” according to Warhol’s “Endangered Species.” This piece is part of the Endangered Species portfolio that was “commissioned by Ronald and Frayda Feldman, long-time political and environmental activists.” it also mentions that “Warhol was always interested in animals,” which is why he was happy to participate in creating this portfolio. i like how the colors are unique and has a dark effect within it. I also like this piece because it helped to prevent extinction for the silverspots.

Works Cited

“Andy Warhol.” Biography. Web. 2015. <www.biography.com/people/andy-warhol-9523875#synopsis>

“Andy Warhol’s ‘Diamond Dust Shoes.'” Vegas Magazine. Web. 2013. <vegasmagazine.com/the-latest/pursuits/postings/andy-warhols-diamonds-dust-shoes>

“Andy Warhol: Endangered Species.” Warhols. We. 2015. <www.warhols.com/endangeredspecies.html>

“Pop Art.” Wikipedia. Web. 2015. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pop-art>

“Roy Lichtenstein.” Biography. Web. 2015. <www.biography.com/people/roy-lichtenstein-9381678>

“Roy Lichtenstein: Most Important Art.” The Art Story. Web. 2013. <www.theartstory.org/artist-lichtenstein-roy.htm>

“Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall.” Lichtenstein Foundation. Web. 2015. <www.lichrensteinfoundation.org/twindex.htm>

Spivey, Virginia. “Pop Art. Khan Academy. Web. 2015. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/pop-art>

The Great Depression

During the Early Modern era, many tragic historical events had happened, including the Great Depression. The Great Depression was the longest and most severe historical event that had happened during 1929-1933, which started in the Untied States and eventually spread through Germany and the Great Britain. It all began when the stock market had supposedly crashed and was reduced to 20% of its 1929 value, which impacted in all of the industrialized world. According to US Economy’s “The Great Depression of 1929,” it mentioned that the unemployed rate “had risen from 3% to 25% of the nations workforce,” which caused “many farmers to lose their farms” by 1933. During this tragic event, many artists had transitioned to create art in styles or tools from early modern, which is photography that was influenced by the Depression.

A photograph, Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange was created in 1936 according to Harry Ransom Center: The University of Texas at Austin’s “Exhibitions: Migrant Mother.” This famous photograph that was influenced by the Depression is most likely can be seen physically almost everywhere, however it mentions that “it was published in a number of magazines, including as a striking full-page image in the September 1936 issue of Survey Graphic.” One important note that it mentioned that this photo “depicts that weariness of a hard existence on poverty,” which most people had to go through during this era. It also described the portrait that the woman “seems not to be looking at the camera,” which “perhaps contemplating a very uncertain future with little hope.” In my opinion for this photograph, was that’s what most people must have felt while living in a world where it is hopeless to think that maybe a happy ending might come.

A famous photo by Margaret Bourke-White, At the Time of the Louisville Flood, was created in 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky according to Life Time’s “Behind the Picture: ‘The American Way’ and the Flood of ’37′” In terms of the appearance of this photograph, it says that “African American men, women and children huddled in a line before a billboard” that titles “World’s Highest Standard of Living,” which sort of “distilling in one frame the anguish that flowed the economic cataclysm of the Twenties and Thirties.” After the photo was taken, it “led off a feature in the Feb. 15, 1937, issue of Life magazine.” Obviously, this photo was influenced by the Depression but it also shows the opposite of what people had predicted when picturing their future before the tragic event had happened, which is why i liked the reason why she had taken this photo.

White Angel Breadline by Dorothea Lange is another famous photograph of the Great Depression where needy men were being served behind the breadline in 1933. According to SFMOMA’s “White Angel Breadline, San Francisco,” the title “White Angel” is referring to a woman named Luis Jordan who was “a working class widow of limited resources,” which “relied only on unsolicited donations to run the breadline.” It also mentioned that Lange decided to take the photo of this woman’s work place to “practice and begin using her camera as a tool for social change,” which is another reason why I like Lange for making the decision. I also liked that Lange tried to find a way to help the people who suffered from the Depression.

Works Cited

“Behind the Picture:’The American Way’ and the Flood of ’37.” Life Time. Ed. Ben Cosgrove. 2015. Web. <life.time.com/behind-the-picture/the-american-way-photos-from-the-great-ohio-river-flood-of-1937/#1>

“Exhibitions: Migrant Mother.” Harry Ransom Center: The University of Texas at Austin. 2015. Web. <www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/windows/southeast/dorothea_lange.html>

“The Great Depression of 1929.” US Economy. April 2, 2015. Web. <useconomy.about.com/od/grassdemosticproduct/p/1929_Depression.htm>

“White Angel Breadline, San Francisco.” SFMOMA. 2015. Web. <www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/12469>

Impressionism Vs. Post Impressionism

During the Romantic Era, everything was changing rapidly, including art. People around the world started to explore new things, wondered about the unknown, and was excited to learn the unexplained things. New styles had developed in the art department, which for this blog it’s Impressionism and Post Impressionism.

Impressionism included in depicting a moment in nature – between light and color. It was characterized by loose brushstrokes and dabs of color and light that blended together, which makes it have a blurry appearance when seeing a painting up close and clearer at a distance. For example, a painting called “Water Lilies” by Claude Monet.

Water Lilies by Monet was painted around 1920-1926 and is currently in Mus’ee de l’Orangerie, which is an exhibit of “series of paintings related to this painting” and “a permanent home for eight water lily murals by Monet,” according to Wikipedia’s “Water Lilies.” I do like this painting in relation to Impressionism, but I feel like it’s not as good in my opinion. I do like the loose brushstrokes in this painting and the combination of color and light but I think it’s not as good as Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, which he paints in styles of Post Impressionism.

Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting Starry Night was painted in 1889 and is currently in The Museum of Modern Art according to Khan Academy’s “Van Gogh, The Starry Night.” It described this painting by mentioning that the “curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky” are “brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows” among the trees and “thickly layered brushstrokes” in the painting made the audiences view “the artist’s turbulent state of mind.” This painting is my favorite because it gives it more emotion and gives a view of Van Gogh’s point of view during this creation of truly unique art. From this painting, you can tell that Van Gogh used Impressionism but added more of himself into it. I also liked how he used his imagination of how he must have felt while in the presence of a starry night. This is why I like Post Impressionism more than Impressionism.

Works Cited

“Water Lilies. Wikipedia. March 23, 2015. Web. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies>

“Van Gogh, The Starry Night.” Khan Academy. 2015. Web. <http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-impressionism/a/van-gogh-the-starry-night/&gt;

Revolution and Art – 1700s

During the Classical Era, most paintings, architecture, or music were made by famous artists for a way to speak or reach other people, to remind them what was going on to the world during their time, in this case (for this blog) it’s revolution. One of the major revolution that had occurred during this time was the French Revolution. The French Revolution influenced famous French artists to create art that relates to this major event.

The Intervention of the Sabine Women is a famous painting by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), oil canvas, 1799, which is located at the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. this painting is about the abduction or rape of the Sabine women, which had supposedly have taken place in 750 BC, where Roman men, who were the first generation, “acquired wives for them selves from the neighboring Sabine families according to Ancient History Encyclopedia’s “The Intervention of the Sabine Women.” An addition to the background story for this painting, it also mentions that “the Romans grabbed the Sabine women and fought off the Sabine Men.” There in the middle of the painting, you can see a woman wearing white clothing and by the body language, it’s almost as if she’s saying “stop” during the war. When I saw this painting, I thought the artist was inspired by the Revolution and created this painting. I think that it might have captured how other people felt during the French Revolution. I also liked how David kind of showed his people that wars during ancient times weren’t so different from the French Revolution. One thing that I noticed was that the artist made the main character a woman, which is surprising because men were mostly the ones in the spotlight during that time. Here’s a video to inform more about the painting:

The Pantheon was built and completed in 1758-1790 by Jacques-Germain Scoufflot. The architectural style of this building is Neoclassicism, which reflects the development in philosophy and other areas of the Age of Enlightenment during the Classical Era. this building is located in the Latin Quarter in Paris. In Wikipedia’s “Pantheon,” it mentions that the building was originally build as a church “dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the requary chasse containing her relics,” but after years had passed, it “now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.” From the inside of the Pantheon, there is a plaque that says (translated):

“Under the cloak of hate and darkness that spread over France during the years of Nazi occupation, thousands of lights refused to be extinguished. Named as ‘Righteous among the Nations’ or remaining anonymous, women and men, of all backgrounds and social classes, saved Jews from anti-semitic persecution and extermination camps. Braving the risks involved, they incarnated the honor of France, and its values of justice, tolerance and humanity.”

The Death of Marat is another famous painting by Jacques-Louis David, which was made in 1793 and is located in Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts at Brissels. This painting’s background story is interesting. This was one of David’s “majestic historical painting” and was “universally hailed as artistic demands for political action,” according to Neo-classicism and French Revolution’s “The Death of Marat.” It says that the man in the painting was named Marat who was a “violent man but some saw him as an intransigent patriot” who was stabbed by Charlotte Corday, which he agreed to meet with her in his apartment. Evidently, Marat was stabbed while sitting in a tub, which “he was accustomed to sit hour after hour treating the disfiguring skin disease from which he suffered.” After Marat’s death, it was believed that David had visited the crime scene and painted it a while after. It also says that one anonymous critic commented that the painting “expressed a supreme kindness and an exemplary revolutionary spirit carried to the point of sacrifice.” Here is a video that has more info of the painting:

Works Cited

“The Death of Marat.” Neo-classicism and French Revolution. March 5, 2014. Web. <www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/neocl_dave_marat.html>

“Patheon.” Wikipedia. Feb. 25, 2015. Web. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patheon/>

“The Intervention of the Sabine Women,” Ancient History Encyclopedia. March 25, 2013. Web. <www.ancient.eu/image/1125/>

“Neo-Classicism.” Khanacademy. 2015. Web. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism&gt;

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johanne’s Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is one of Vermeer’s most recognized work during the Baroque Era. In Totally History’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” says that the portrait was painted by Vermeer, who was a Dutch painter. It also mentioned that the painting was first called “Girl with a Turban,” but was renamed after the 20th century. The painting has a way of making its viewers pay attention to the girl’s eyes as if she’s looking back to the audience, which some believed to be “the real focal point of the painting” according to Totally History. It also says that the painting is currently located in the Mauritshuis gallery in The Hague.

Because the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is nearly similar to the “Mona Lisa” painting by Leonardo da Vinci, in terms of a women in a famous painting, some have called this painting as the “Mona Lisa of the North” or “The Dutch Mona Lisa.”

It also mentions that the “Mona Lisa of the North” was painted in the year of 1665 and is about 17.5 in. x 15 in. Most people believed that the painting is “best-loved painting” because of the way the girl is “looking over her shoulder,” which “draws the attention from the viewer, giving a feeling her head turns to see the viewer.” One important note that the Totally History stated that “the women in Vermeer’s paintings were usually depicted in a deep thought-provoking poses that speaks to the uniformity in his subjects.”

Similar to da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” has a dark background which made the woman’s face, wide eyes, and earring stand out of the painting. The highlights in the woman’s skin almost makes the painting appear in 3D, which also makes it even more human and beautiful. When focusing on the girl’s “wide eyes” it influences the viewers to assume the the girl is “lost in thought.” Unlike the “Mona Lisa,” because of the black background, I think it was a way to only focus on the girl, what she was wearing, how her skin looked, and not to worry about where she was or who she was with… just to focus on her.

When I saw this painting, I wondered who she was. There are two possibilities of this girl’s identity in Vermeer’s painting. There is a novel called “Girl with a Pearl Earring” written by Tracy Chevalier and eventually turned it into a movie.

    

In Chevalier’s novel, the girl in Vermeer’s painting is a servant that happened to assist Vermeer in his work. However, in Huffingpost: Arts and Culture’s “Who was the Girl with the Pearl Earring?,” by Benjamin Binstock, says otherwise.

The Huffingpost opens it’s argument by stating, “one historian suggest that she was actually the artist who painted a fifth of the works attributed to Vermeer – his daughter.” Binstock mentioned that his friend Lawrence Weschler, a journalist New York writer, suggested that the girl in the painting “might be the artist’s eldest daughter, Maria.’ It is hard to believe that the model of “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is the daughter of the artist because of Chevalier’s  novel, but its possible that it is true. Benstock also mentioned that “several authors identified the figures who appear repeatedly in his compositions as Vermeer, his wife, and his gradually aging eldest daughter’s Maria and Elisabeth,” which suggest the likely inspiration for Chevalier. It is said that Maria was around her teen years during the creation of this painting.

“Girl with a Pearl Earring” is beautiful because of how she was posing. As mentioned before, her eyes do really look like as if she is looking back at you. The lighting in her face and clothing makes the painting look more realistic. Also, her mouth almost opening makes her look almost young and innocent. The pearl she is wearing kind of made me think that the earring is like a treasure to her. The way the painting is painted kind of influences the way future paintings will be painted when painting a beautiful young women.

Works Cited

“Girl With a Pearl Earring.” Totally History. 2012. Web. <http://totallyhistory.com/girl-with-a-pearl-earring/&gt;

Binstock, Benjamin. “Who was the Girl With the Pearl Earring?” HuffPost: Arts and Culture. Oct. 31, 2013. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/the-girl-with-the-pearl-e_n_4178779.html&gt;

“Girl With a Pearl Earring.” Reading Group Guides. Image. 2014. Web. <http://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/girl-with-a-pearl-earing/&gt;

The Mona Lisa

A portrait of Mona Lisa is a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. This well-known painting is what everyone has seen personally, in films, or virtually through out the world and it is something everyone has heard about that is inevitable. One thing that brings to my attention of this painting is her smile. It makes me wonder is if she is really smiling or if she was just “posing” for Leonardo’s satisfaction for his painting.

According to Leonardo da Vinci: Paintings, Drawings, Quotes, Biography’s “The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci,” description of the painting says that the location is in the Louvre in Paris, France, which is owned by the Government of France. The portrait is also known as La Giocanda, who is the wife of Franceso del Giocondo. It also mentions that the painting “is painted as oil on wood” and that the size of the painting is 77x 53 cm (30x 20 7/8 in). In terms of Mona Lisa’s smile, it is believed to represent the idea of “happiness,” which is suggested by the word “giocanda” in Italian according to the description. In addition to the smile, it mentions that the painting achieved “the sense of overall harmony in the sitter’s faint smile,” which reflects “the idea of a link connecting humanity and nature.” Because of Leonardo’s portrait of Mona Lisa, it perfected the meaning of art, which is science in a way and “the truth of life” in the Renaissance.

After researching the information of Mona Lisa’s smile, this description answered my question of why she was smiling the way she did.

The portrait of Mona Lisa is interesting of how da Vinci had painted it. The sitter’s and the back drop or landscape goes perfect with each other. If you pay attention to of how da Vinci painted the sitters hair, skin and clothing, they sort of complements the shapes and shading of the rivers and meadows behind the sitter. This kind of made da Vinci achieve the sense of harmony within the scene of the painting.

I think that the Mona Lisa is beautiful because of how the way it is painted. The shading and the brightness of this painting makes the portrait look beautiful in a way when you think of classical paintings. However, it makes me wonder why is it really dim and dark. Is it because it has gone a shade darker from age? Has it gone darker than it was during the Renaissance? I assume that with age, the painting will be even more popular in terms of classical art then before. I also think the way she was sitting for the portrait is perfect. Imagine sitting the way your supposed to when your taking a picture for your school photo/Year book and you wanted to look as perfect like the way Mona Lisa did, that’s what I thought of when trying to imagine how she sat when da Vinci painted her.

If you want to learn more about Leonardo da Vinci and his other paintings, here is where you can go

http://www.leonardodavinci.net

Fun Facts of “The Mona Lisa”

In Ten Random Facts of “Mona Lisa” by Cris, here are some facts of the painting that you may not have known.

1) “It is believed that the person who commissioned the Mona Lisa was never given the painting, and remained in da Vinci’s possession until his death, and eventually was obtained by the French King, King Francis I.”

2) “The Mona Lisa has had acid, rocks, paint and a cup thrown at it, but it is still in a good condition due to the restoration, touch-ups and cleaning it has had.”

3) “The Mona Lisa was stolen on the 21, August 1911 by an Italian Louvre employee, Vincenzo Peruggia, and was missing for two years, and eventually turned up in Italy, where Peruggia had taken it.”

4) “The Mona Lisa is not insured as it is considered priceless, and it has a current estimated value of almost US $760 million, based on an insurance assessment in the early 1960s, valued then at $100 million.”

If you found any interesting facts about this painting you could comment them below, I would like to read them! 🙂

Works Cited

Cris. “Mona Lisa.” Ten Random Facts. May 26, 2013. Web. <tenrandomfacts.com/mona-lisa/>

“The Mona Lisa – by Leonardo Da Vinci.” Leonardo da Vinci: Paintings, Drawings, Quotes, Biography. 2011. Web. <www.leonardodavinci.net/the-mona-lisa.jsp>

“Mona Lisa: Painting by Leonardo da Vinci.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Dec. 2, 2014. Web. <www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388735/Mona-Lisa>

Hello!

Hi, I’m cathydmc2 and I’m studying General Studies (Associate of Arts) at Kuskokwim Campus (Bethel, Alaska). I have been living in Bethel for three years now attending KUC. I am originally from a village called Tuntutuliak, which is about 50 miles south of Bethel. I speak two languages (English and Yupik). I am planning to work for Lower Kuskokwim School District in my village after I get my Associate of Arts degree.

My relationship to art is that I can draw. I also love listening to music. And I used to edit videos for fun during my high school years. I have been drawing for fun since I was in Jr high, so did the other girls in my class. “Drawing for fun” was popular for girls my age during my teen years. I can only draw by copying an image, I can’t draw out of my imagination like I used to when I was little. The only time I draw stuff is when I have nothing else to do. The type of music I listen to is the ones that are in the “top 20” lists. I also like to listen to songs from the late 90s.

I love drawing anime eyes so I put a tutorial video of how to draw anime eyes