When I saw this photo today it brought back some incredible memories. This is an image by a famed artist named Roy Lichtenstein. This is his interpretation of one of the world’s most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa. I have had the opportunity to actually see the Mona Lisa up close and personal.
I spent quite a bit of time in Paris toward the end of my high school career and entering my college years. My aunt was living there at the time working for IBM and I was provided that Christmas with a plane ticket to come visit. The trip, which I will save all the juicy details for another time, was an incredible one and one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
But the purpose of this post is not to tell you about my trip to Paris. This is to tell you about how big of a disappointment the Mona Lisa truly was. I had incredible expectations and was thinking that from all I had heard and all that I had seen this painting was going to make tears just flow down my face as soon as I saw it. It did cause tears, but in the form of laughter.
When I first got to the Louvre I was shocked at the size of the museum. It was huge and took up an entire city block. There were more rooms and hallways of art I had no idea where to begin. So I just started and basically got lost in the gallery. I remember this like it was yesterday actually. I was walking, thinking nothing of it, and I turned the corner to enter a larger room that was packed with people. I had no idea what was so important in this room until I saw a huge group of people all looking at one piece. I figured this must be her.
I walked closer and closer and was still having a hard time seeing what they were looking at. When I finally figured it out I was shocked that the painting was as small as it was. I mean, there are other world famous paintings in this same room, like the painting of Washington when he crossed the Delaware, and no one could care less. Everyone wanted to look at this incredibly small image.
I was just shocked by it. But this image just brought back some incredible memories of that trip. It was one that I will make again in my lifetime for sure. My aunt is the reason for my initial world travels and has sparked numerous journeys since. So she is to thank for my first overseas journey and my experience with a disappointing masterpiece.
Wow thanks for your opinion, Ricky! I’m a big fan of Da Vinci’s artworks and saw some of them live. Must say yes here, many people share your point of view and consider Mona Lisa a bit dissapointing. But still, I believe this is an important part of Da Vinci’s talent and of all history in general, don’t you agree? 🙂
Yes, the piece is important… But art is subjective. A few weeks ago a banana taped to the wall was in the spotlight. I’ve created a lot of art over the years, and some may think it is good while others will think it is just a bunch of lines on computer screen. Enjoy the discussion, though!