The story continues
The previous day was eventful. After ensuring a hearty meal from the hotel restaurant (had a long chat with chef, explaining him about
Indian species and herbs) we slept like logs. Got up early in the morning for the day. I had planed to spend the day at
Louver. The art lover I am, I was looking forward to the trip eagerly. When you have a date with the two most famous women in the world, on the same day, same time, same place, how does one feel. Exhilarated could be the word but it is not even an iota close to what I was feeling.
I started from home 9:00 in the morning after a hearty French breakfast and was at Louver in 45 minutes. The Louver Palace was buzzing with people already and I had to find my way to the entry. I had seen in the pictures but when you come face to face with the two beautiful, unique geometric echo Glass Pyramids, you surely would appreciate the modern art and technology. A Real Cosmopolitan, my Date’s other previous homes include: Fontainebleau, the Palace of Versailles, Chateau Amboise, the abbey of Loc-Dieu, Montauban, the U.S., New York City, Washington D.C., Tokyo and Moscow.
After spending few minutes in the entrance hall (and of course going through certain formalities) I was headed towards meeting the first beauty. It was tough to decide which one to meet first and I hadn’t decided yet. Then came the cross road, on right, waiting, was “La Joconde” and on left was Venus de Milo.
Not because I have a preference, but I decided that going right was probably the right decision and in few minutes I was in the room Salle des Etats where she now hangs alone on a wall. Yes, I am talking about “La Joconde” the French name for Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci's 500-year-old masterpiece “Mona Lisa”. (Giaconda is an Italian word and means a light-hearted woman).
The Mona Lisa has moved to her new home within Paris' Louvre art gallery on Monday, April 4th 2005. The Most famous piece in art history, no other work of art is so researched, celebrated, reproduced or romanticized. She lived in France from 1517 to 1911 (moved to Louvre in 1804) but was stolen in 1911. She was rediscovered in a hotel in Florence Italy after 2 years. The French King Francois I bought the painting for 4,000 ecus (the then currency) and today, the current value of the Mona Lisa is well over $500 million.
Painted on a poplar wood panel the artist has shown her a terrace with a parapet and two small columns, only the bases and the edges of which are visible. Sitting on an armed semicircular wooden chair, she is shown from just below the waist with her arms folded.
Wearing no jewelry, Mona Lisa’s dress is dark, with a pleated bodice, embroidered with interlacing forms in gold. With a veil over her bit tousled hair, her scarf is hanging from her left shoulder and the yellow sleeves of her dress are rumpled into little folds. Leonardo da Vinci seemed less interested in her attire but was interested in the timelessness of her expression.
Nobody knows anything about the commissioning of the portrait, its painting and payment. One of the first biographies of Leonardo states that it was painted for Francesco del Giocondo and is the portrait of his wife, Mona Lisa, whose maiden name was Gherardini.
Giorgio Vasari, who is painter and author by profession, in his book “The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects”, gives a legendary description based on the painting's reputation (experts are below)
He States, "Leonardo undertook to paint the portrait of Mona Lisa, but having spent four years on it left it unfinished. This work is now the property of King Francis of France in Fontainebleau. In this head, whoever wished to see how closely art could imitate nature, was able o comprehend it with ease; for in it were counterfeited all the minuteness that with subtlety are able to be painted, seeing that the eyes had that luster and watery sheen which are always seen in life, and around them were all those rosy and pearly tints, as well as the lashes, which cannot be represented without the greatest subtlety. The eyebrows, through his having shown the manner in which the hairs spring from the flesh, here more close and here more scanty, and curve according to the pores of the skin, could not be more natural. The nose, with its beautiful nostrils, rosy and tender, appeared to be alive. The mouth, with its opening, and with its ends united by the red of the lips to the flesh-tints of the face, seemed, in truth, to be not colors but flesh. In the pit of the throat, if one gazed upon it intently, could be seen the beating of the pulse. And, indeed, it may be said that it was painted in such a manner as to make every valiant craftsman, be he who he may, tremble and lose heart." And trust me, I lost my heart too.
After spending time in the room “Salle des Etats” with Mona Lisa, it was time to meet the other date of the day. Coming out of the room, a left turn and there I was back at cross road, where I was fascinated by a winged but headless sculpture. Not many people pay attention to the beauty probably because it is not as famous as Mona Lisa. My feet did not allow me to move as I was captivated by the striking depiction of the human form encapsulating the "Greek spirit." In this case, Inspired essentially by the human body, Greek artists have created an art on a human scale and focused on the human form, in contrast with earlier ancient civilizations which had always concentrated on the unreachable world of the gods.
Unearthed in 1863 on the small island of Samothrace in the northwest Aegean by Charles Champoiseau, French Vice-Consul to Adrianople, this exceptional monument of “goddess of Victory” (Nike, in Greek) is shown in the form of a winged woman standing on the prow of a ship, braced against the strong wind blowing through her garments. The colossal work was originally placed in a rock niche that had been dug into a hill, overlooking the theater of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. This niche
may also have contained a pool filled with water in which the ship appeared to float. Given its placement, the work was meant to be viewed from the front left-hand side; this explains the disparity in sculpting technique, the right side of the body being
much less detailed. The highly theatrical presentation-combined with the goddess's monumentality, wide wingspan, and the vigor of her forward-thrusting body-reinforces the reality of the scene.
The sanctuary at Samothrace was consecrated to the Cabeiri, gods of fertility whose help was invoked to protect seafarers and to grant victory in war. The offering of a statue of Nike perched on a ship was a religious act in honor of these gods. It has also been suggested that this monument was dedicated by the Rhodians in commemoration of a specific naval victory.
It was time to move on. Another few minutes and I was greeted by one of the most fascinating discovery done on the island of Melos in 1820. Some say she is Aphrodite, who was often portrayed half-naked and some say she is the sea goddess Amphitrite, who had venerated on Milo. With marvelous features such as the spiral composition, the positioning in space, and the fall of the drapery over the hips, statue reflects sculptural research during the late Hellenistic Period (that’s the era she has been dated to). I am not going to write much about this enigma which has kept the whole world guessing. Writing about her is not my cup of tea. I am speechless and only wish we could find her missing arms and the jewelry.
Please note that the some details, facts and experts have been borrowed from
www.louvre.org I was too busy admiring art and haven't been handling my camera good. Please excuse me for bad pictures of this day. 
23rd April 2010, 12:50
