There's something about smiles and swirls that makes them classic. The elegance they ooze out is just oh, so fantastic! No wonder these are the distinctive features of Mona Lisa and The Starry Night by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh, respectively. But what about them? What's the big deal and what about their fame? These brilliant paintings have been both admired and questioned since then. They have been garnering attention for their mysteriousness and real origins. Speculations have arisen as well over the years of their existence. It's no surprise that such things have occurred since the two paintings are among the famous artworks in history, if not, the most. So, what IS the real deal with all the issues surrounding it and what not? Among the fishes in sea, what makes them unique? What sets them apart from the others?
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| That's one creepy smile don't 'ya think? |
First stop, Mona Lisa. Leonardo's ever-so-mysterious lady in a panel is just one of the things that makes the world go crazy. The most famous smile in the whole world, literally, belongs to the painting of Lisa Gherardini created by the one and only Leonardo da Vinci. This smile is the same reason for the painting's fame. This prominent feature wasn't clearly detailed but was made so that an illusion existed. At first glance we perceive what seems to be a smile, but then it gradually disappears the longer you look at it. The eyes were also painted in such a way that the mouth was captured within the vision. For this painting he used the "Sfumato" technique he invented, meaning 'without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke', which also explains the mystery of Mona Lisa's facial expression. There were many other unique characteristics in the Mona Lisa that intrigued the art community and the viewers like the landscape in the background, considering that portraits were commonly drawn with the background being an open sky, monotone-colored or a room. This proves what brilliant skills Leonardo has.
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| Such a dreamy place, isn't it? |
Up next is Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. This is personally my favorite artwork in all of history for one simple reason: It is surreal and makes me feel like I'm in a utopia whenever I look at it. Vincent was believed to have suffered from some sort of seizures or crises and one particular incident had himself cut his own ear and be sent to a mental health asylum where his room only had a small window to peek at. The view from his window is the said origin of the Starry night. The Starry night is a post-impressionist art, like all of his other works, which consists of vivid colors, thick application of paint, real-life subject matter, emphasis of geometric forms and the use of unusual or arbitrary colors. Van Gogh suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy and was thought to have been treated by Dr. Gachet with a drug called digitalis which can cause one to see in yellow or see yellow spots which explain his consistent use of it. It is also thought that Van Gogh suffered from lead poisoning from all of the lead-based paints that he used and one of the symptoms was swelling of the retinas which can cause one to see light in circles like halos around objects. These factors may have influenced the painter's vision, and proceeded with painting what he actually saw, hence the stars in the painting looking like they were actually shining. The night sky depicted in the painting is brimming with whirling clouds, shining stars, and a bright crescent moon. These features were painted in such a way that the viewer's eye around the painting. Van Gogh's use of color, light, mood, tone, emotion and brush strokes add up to the amazing existence of the brilliant painting.
The explanation behind the turbulent swirls:
Here are some renditions of the artworks:
*Images and videos respectively taken from Google and Youtube.
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