You’d Smile Too… 

The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo) is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world.”

That perfect moment of seeing the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile for the first time was awe-inspring for me.  The perfection of her taut skin, the beautiful details on her bodice, the sheer veil over her parted hair…it was all overwhelmingly fascinating to me.  She has become such a common sight to most modern eyes, but her beauty could not be paled by her familiarity.  Even being forced to stand at least 15 feet from the painting and having to force my way through the crowd to get a closer look at her from all angles, I loved the sight of her.  La Joconde is still my favorite painting.

I recreated DaVinci’s painting entirely in watercolor. The paint was applied in thin transparent layers to create depth of color.  Although the sky is much greener than the original, it was done purposefully to stress the red of her shoes. She is one of four paintings in my “shoe series.”  Now we can all know what’s been on her on her mind for 500 years.  The examination of her enigmatic smile has come to an end…

Watercolor on Windsor Newton Cold Press (signed and numbered prints available)