A lot of great works were created by artists in different eras. Madame Lisa del Giocondo, pictured more than five hundred years ago, is surrounded by such fame that this is perhaps the most illustrious work in the absolute sense of the word. There is no exaggeration. But what do we know about the life that Lisa del Giocondo led? Her biography will be presented to your attention.
A family
Antonmaria di Noldo Gerardini - Lisa's father, twice widowed. In his first marriage, he was married to Lisa di Giovanni Filippo de Carducci, and in the second, to Caterina di Mariotto Rucellia, who both died during childbirth. The third marriage took place in 1476 with Lucretia del Caccio. The Gerardini family was ancient, aristocratic, but impoverished and lost its influence in Florence. It was well-off and enjoyed the income of the farms in Chianti, which produced olive oil, wine, wheat and cattle.
Lisa Gerardini was the oldest child and was born on June 15, 1479 in Via Maggio. She was named after her paternal grandmother. In addition to her, the family had three sisters and three brothers.
The family, living in Florence, moved several times and, finally, settled next door to Piero da Vinci, Leonardo's father.
Lisa's marriage
March 5, 1495, when the girl was 15 years old, Lisa got married to Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo.
She became his third wife. Her dowry was modest and consisted of 170 florins and the San Silvestro farm, which was located near the country house of the Giocondo family. One might think that the groom did not pursue wealth, but simply fell in love with a modest girl from a family that did not have a significant fortune. In addition, he was much older than his young wife - at the time of marriage he was 30 years old.
What did the Giocondo family do?
These were silk and clothing merchants. In addition, Francesco del Giocondo owned farms that were located in Castellina in Chianti and San Donato in Poggio next to the two farms that later became the property of Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Francesco began to climb higher on the social ladder and in 1512 was elected to the Signoria of Florence.
He probably had connections with the political and commercial interests of the powerful Medici family, because when the government of Florence was afraid of their return from exile, Francesco was fined 1,000 florins and imprisoned. However, it was released when the Medici power was restored.
Family life
Ms. Lisa del Giocondo lived her life in peace and harmony with her husband. She raised his son from the first wife of Camilla Ruchelai. The stepmother of Lisa, Katerina and Camilla were sisters.
Lisa del Giocondo, through her marriage, raised her own social status, since the family into which she entered was significantly more wealthy than her own. Eight years later, in 1503, Francesco bought a new house for his family on Via della Stafa, next to his old house.
On the map of the historical center of Florence, the house where Francesco and Lisa lived lived in red, and the houses of Lisa's parents in purple. Initially, they were located on the north bank, closer to the Arno River, and then in the south on the other coast.
The couple had five children: Pierrot, Camilla, Andrea, Giocondo and Marietta. Subsequently, Camilla and Marietta will be tonsured as a nun. Camilla, who took the name Beatrice with tonsure, died at age 18 and is buried in Santa Maria Novella. Marietta took the name of Louis and became a respected member of the monastery of Sant Orsola.
Sickness and death
In 1538, Francesco died when an epidemic of plague came to the city. Before his death, he ordered to return to his beloved wife her dowry, clothes and jewelry: Lisa del Giocondo, as a faithful and exemplary wife, should be provided to everyone.
The exact date of death of Mrs. Lisa has not been established. There are suggestions that she died in 1542 at the age of 63 years. Another date of her death is around 1551, when she was 71-72 years old. She is buried in the monastery of St. Ursula in Florence.
Order a portrait
Like most Florentines who lived during the Italian Renaissance, the family of Francesco Giocondo was passionate about art. Messier Francesco was friendly with Piero da Vinci. His son Leonardo, before returning to his native Florence in 1503, wandered around Italian cities for a long time.
Through his father they convey the wish that he paint a portrait of a young Florentine woman. Here he begins work on a portrait of Mona Lisa. "Mona" is translated as "mistress." Leonardo worked on it for several years. Vasari writes that he continued to work for four years, but perhaps even longer. How to find out who painted "Mona Lisa"? This can be done by reading Giorgio Vasari's Biographies. This is a recognized source trusted by all art historians. Unfortunately, most Russians do not have the opportunity to visit the Louvre, where the world-famous portrait is located. If you look at the original, then all the questions about how to find out who painted "Mona Lisa" will disappear by themselves.
The ingenious work
What, in fact, is its magical effect and incomparable popularity? It seems that the picture is extremely simple. She is surprised by the lack of bright colors, luxurious clothes, as well as the discreet look of the model itself. All the attention of the viewer is focused on the gaze of a young woman, which is eye-catching, which makes up the intrigue and main attraction of this image.
The more we look at Lisa, the more there is a desire to penetrate into the depths of her consciousness. But this is an extremely difficult task. The model sets an exact line that the viewer cannot overcome. This is one of the main secrets of the image. A smile and a look, that is, a face, are the main things in a portrait. The position of the body, arms, landscape and much more are the details that are subordinate to the face. This is Leonardo’s magical mathematical prowess: the model is in certain relationships with us. It attracts and simultaneously closes from the viewer. This is one of the wonders of this portrait.
Lisa del Giocondo: interesting facts
- The surname Giocondo translates as "cheerful" or "joyful."
- The picture cannot be called canvas, because it is painted on a wooden board made of poplar.
- The figure and landscape we see from different points of view. The model is straight, the background is on top.
- There is no single point of view regarding the landscape. Someone believes that this is Tuscany, Arno Valley; someone is convinced that this is a northern, mysterious Milanese landscape.
- For many centuries, the color of the picture has changed. Now it is homogeneous, brownish. The varnish, which turned yellow over time, interacting with the blue pigment, changed the color of the landscape.
- Repeatedly returning to work on the portrait, the artist increasingly moved away from the real model. The creator put all his ideas about the world into a generalized image. Before us is a symbolic representation of man in harmony of his mental and spiritual properties.
- The portrait, like all works by Leonardo, is not signed.
- The picture does not have an exact value. All attempts to evaluate it did not lead to a single result.
- In 1911, the work was stolen. The police found neither a picture nor a thief. But in 1914 he voluntarily returned the work.