LOL as a portrait painter I get this question about once a month. Understand that until you see the painting in real life, it's difficult to understand. The Mona Lisa is only about 18" x 24" and it is amazing to stand next to her (for about a second!) and watch how disappointed people seam to be about her. They have recently discovered exactly who she was, for certain, in one of the libraries of Italy. See here for more details *www.spiegel.de/international/euro...
Now, art work is not judged strictly on does the person like it or not. If thats the case, then about 85% of the work I see is crap. However there are rules that we study on how to evaluate a piece and to determine how successful that particular artist was with the subject they were painting. These rules (or the basic ones at least) are called the elements and principles of design. See here for a basic website *www.johnlovett.com/test.htm
After reading that web page, look at the Mona Lisa again and try to determine the worth yourself. Also keep in mind, that the woman in the portrait had also just lost a child, within the previous months. Just getting her to smile alone was a miracle. Also keep in mind that in that day and age, all colors and tools were created by hand and mixed by hand. There were no "art" stores like there are today. Mix this with his extreame attention to detail, and balance it is just a breath taking piece. If you'd like to expound further
atomicportraits@live.com
* 2 months ago
Source(s):
*www.spiegel.de/international/euro...
*www.johnlovett.com/test.htm