Video: A man tried to vandalize a Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre Museum in Paris (Walla system!)
The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world – and also one of the most mysterious. The circumstances of Mona Lisa's creation are almost as shrouded in mystery as the cartoon character's frowning gaze. According to the only known historical evidence, by biographer Giorgio Vasari, it was commissioned in 1503 by the merchant Giacondo while he was in Florence, and Leonardo da Vinci finished work on it in 1506 or 1507. Now historical documents have helped an art historian unravel one of the mysteries for a reason - where is it? There is an answer to the location of the Mona Lisa, at least that's what he claims. Italian art historian Silvano Vincenti claims to have identified the bridge in the background of polymath Leonardo da Vinci's painting - and solved the mystery of where it was painted.
Vincenti, who worked on the project with the La Rocca Cultural Society, examined recently discovered historical documents and compared the current landscape with the painting using a drone. Vincenti now believes that the bridge in the painting is the bridge in Tuscany. "This is the Etruscan Roman-Romito bridge, also known as Ponte di Valle, located in the municipality of Laterina in the province of Arezzo," Vincenti told the Italian newspaper Ansa, "Only one arch remains of this bridge today, but in the period between 1501 and 1503 the bridge operated and it was very busy, as indicated by a document on the state of assets in the Medici family properties, which is in the State Archives of Florence."
The Mona Lisa. We found where it was painted (Photo: AP)
People have concluded in the past that the bridge seen in the Mona Lisa painting is the Ponte Boriano on the Arno River, or the Ponte Vecchio in Bobbio. However, Ponte di Valle has four arches, which makes it more suitable than the others - which have six or more arches.
According to Vincenti, the landscape also matches: "The unique shape of the Arnault along this strip of terrain corresponds to what Leonardo presented in the landscape to the left of the woman in the famous painting."
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Although largely collapsed now, the bridge served as a shortcut between Arezzo, Faisal and Florence. Documents examined by Vincenti show that da Vinci often settled into sculpture with his uncle, a priest named Amadory or Amdoro.
Despite his conclusions, some art historians argue that da Vinci never intended to paint a particular bridge. "Leonardo was a devout observer of nature, but he did not 'copy' nature in his works," says Francesca Fiorani, an art historian at the University of Virginia. "The bridge in the painting is inspired by the many rivers that crossed the Arno in the Tuscan countryside, but it does not represent any of them specifically."
In any case, Vinci's findings may be enough to attract future visitors to the small town of 3,500 people. So who will be the first to fly and be photographed with a mischievous smile against the background of this landscape?
- culture
Tags
- Mona Lisa
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Italy