What makes Mona Lisa different？

【Abstract】The period from the beginning of the 14th century to the 17th century， was quite a special period for Europe because Renaissance happened， which brought remarkable changes to the western world. Before Renaissance， the western world was a world of God， who gained complete superiority to man. Artistic works at that time were also full of signs of God. However， Renaissance made God less divine and began to attach importance on man and the real human life. One of the most influential representatives was the world-renowned painting by Leonardo da Vinci — Mona Lisa. It has been regarded as the milestone in the history of art because it was the first artistic work to center on man. Its worldwide reputation also came as a powerful manifestation of Humanism， which was the central theme of Renaissance. By viewing Mona Lisa in its historical context of Renaissance， this paper figures out what makes Mona Lisa different from the artistic works in Middle Ages.

【Key words】Mona Lisa； Renaissance； Humanism

【作者簡介】邢新雅（1997.4- ），女，山西呂梁人，河南大學(xué) 外語學(xué)院，就讀學(xué)校：河南大學(xué)，就讀專業(yè)：翻譯。

I. Introduction

In the Middle Ages， the western world was totally a world of God and man was paid little attention. At that time， Church had complete control over every aspect of human life. However， Renaissance， whose central theme was humanism， brought remarkable changes to the whole western world. Artistic works at that time were powerful manifestations of these social changes， of which Mona Lisa， one of the most famous works by Leonardo da Vinci， was worth careful investigation. By putting Mona Lisa in its historical context of Renaissance， this paper intends to figure out what makes Mona Lisa different from the artistic works in the Middle Ages.

II. Literature Review

Mona Lisa， which is a masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci， has gained worldwide reputation for its artistic excellence and attracted numerous people to conduct researches on it. There has been over 200 monographs on Mona Lisa all over the world， some of which made guesswork about Mona Lisas true identity by working on her appearance， such as her smile， her eyebrows and her clothes； while others， by analyzing Da Vincis artistic techniques， tried to figure out why he spent four years on this painting and whether there is a sister-painting of it. Despite all of this， most people showed their compliments for Mona Lisa and admiration for Da Vinci.

However， in China， there hasnt been one monograph on Mona Lisa up to now， although we all know that it is a masterpiece. Most essays about Mona Lisa are merely about its background and the reputation it has gained. Some tried to research on the beauty of women by analyzing Mona Lisas smile. However， most of these research focused only on the superficial level of the figure in the painting. Actually， one can have a thorough understanding of the painting Mona Lisa only when he is free from the control of the figure in the painting and come into a higher level—to put it into the historical context of Renaissance and make a contrast between it and the artistic works in the Middle Ages.

III. Detailed Analysis

3.1 The Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages， the western world was under the control of Church， which was the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Every aspect of human life revolved around God. Education， one of the most important areas of human life， was completely monopolized by Church， with all kinds of schools founded by the Church and all the teachers being the priests in the Church. Since all education talked about was God， there was an acute lack of true knowledge about human being， nature and science. Moreover， at that time， the western people had solid supreme trust in God， with a belief that all the human beings were born with original sins and they must rely on the Christ to live on. It was generally believed that only God could save human beings.

It was a fact that western artists in the Middle Ages had an extremely low social class. In order to make a humble living， they had no choice but to cater to the Church. Since the superiority of God was the highest criterion in the western world at that time， their works were mainly about religion wall-painting and painting of God， which made people whoever looked at them have a strong feeling of dullness， stiffness， indifference and coldness. In other words， those figures in the artistic works at that time were mostly religion figures， mysterious but dull. It was agreed that in Middle Ages， one of the most distinctive characteristics of the artistic figures was that they were vividly detailed but not activated enough. For example， before the 13th century， artistic works in Italy were of rich colors but of little variations； namely， all the artistic figures were deified while the image of God was stiffened.

3.2 Renaissance

Renaissance， a revolutionary movement in the history of Europe， is of great importance for the research about the changes and development of the European ideology. Beginning from Italy at the end of 13th century， Renaissance soon got its wide spread to the whole Europe and reached its climax in the 16th century. Renaissance revealed and criticized the shortcomings and viciousness of the Church and switched the focus from God and Church to man and real human life. The advocates of Renaissance claimed that man， instead of God， is the center of the world. Moreover， the mission of Renaissance was to liberate mans mind and awake mans nature which had been pressed down by the Church for many years. They proposed to clear peoples ignorance by learning scientific knowledge and the philosophy of positive attitude toward life.

Humanism， which grew from the eroded soil of religion in the Middle Ages， was a significant reflection of human beings about themselves. Since humanism spoke highly of mans value and dignity， people didnt live on God anymore； instead， they began to come back to the real human life and thought about the beauty of man and mans nature. Artists， the main force to accelerate the process of the reflection about man and human life， began to pursue “ the life of art， instead of the art of life”. Under the influence of humanism， many artists “ began their exploration of a new artistic mode which was totally different from that in Middle Ages” and what lied in their works was the conflict between two different kinds of philosophy. Different from artists in the Middle Ages， who liked making use of abstract lines to distinguish God from man to show his dignity， artists in the period of Renaissance emphasized their pursuit of serving man and human life.

3.3 What makes Mona Lisa different？

Mona Lisa， which was one of the great masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci in the period of Renaissance， distinguished itself from the artistic works in Middle Ages. Many people have tried to investigate the real prototype of Mona Lisa. Who was it？ Da Vincis mother or the perfect woman in his eyes？ Actually， “an artistic prototype was the combined product of art and man in a specific time， a reflection of the artists mind.” Who the woman was didnt matter so much as long as she was a real human being， instead of the God or any other religion figures. That was the distinctive characteristic of Mona Lisa.

Mona Lisa was the milestone of both the history of European art and human being. It overturned the artistic mode with the color of religion and emphasized the value an dignity of man. It was a mirror to reflect the mental state of man at that time. Da Vinci embodied his figure into a satisfied， confident and decent woman， who had a sincere smile and easy eyes. No signs of pressure and scarcity could be found in the figure. It was such a painting of an ordinary woman that made itself extraordinary because it made people feel the trueness， confidence and optimism of human beings. Different from the artistic works in Middle Ages， Mona Lisa refreshed peoples opinion about art： art was not a privilege of God and every ordinary man could be the hero of artistic works.

IV. Conclusion

By putting Mona Lisa in its corresponding historical context of Renaissance， it was found that Mona Lisa was a different painting from the artistic works in the Middle Ages because it overturned the artistic mode with the color of religion in the Middle Ages and brought humanism， the central theme of Renaissance， into life. To be specific， it liberated peoples mind out of being controlled by the Church ignorantly and began to think about the true meaning of human life. It was also a symbol of the complete change from God to man， which led people to appreciate the beauty of human nature. Moreover， it told the vivid story to the world that the European people made it to break all the set rules and barriers on the way to learn about nature and themselves. In a word， by centering on man， Mona Lisa distinguished itself from the artistic works in the Middle Ages.

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