A Girl's Reflections

I do not remember art being part of my childhood. I first became aware of the Mona Lisa while reading a Mills and Boon romance novel. I was about 10 years old and had no business reading that book.

I do not remember the tittle of the book but I do recall the heroine’s eyes being compared to that of the Mona Lisa’s. I came up with a mental image of Mona Lisa based on the book’s cover picture.

A few years later, I saw a picture of the Mona Lisa while at a bookstore. She looked nothing like the woman I had imagined.
The Mona Lisa’s mysterious history intrigues me.

First of, it was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci who is considered a genius. Art historians cannot agree on who exactly the woman in the painting is. Although, it is said to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco Del Giocondo. The painting believed to have been complete shortly before Da Vinci died in 1519, didn’t become famous until the mid-19th century when it became associated with feminine mystique.

It was stolen on August 21st 1911 by a Louvre employee, an Italian patriot who believed the painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum.

I took these pictures of the Mona Lisa, last October at the Louvre where it hangs, embedded in a concrete wall and protected by two sheets of bulletproof glass. I fought my way through a crowd of about 16 people deep to get close enough to take two snap shots.

In 2010 When I returned to Vancouver from Paris, my friend E had asked if I had seen the Mona Lisa. He was very disappointed when I said no – I tried to explain that it was too crowed but E looked at me with very sad eyes and said –

You can’t go to the Louvre and not go see the Mona Lisa. It’s a pilgrimage.