Mona Lisa and Me

“Why Mona Lisa?” people ask. Of all the paintings, of all the people, of all the possible topics, why did I choose a seemingly ordinary woman who lived in Florence five hundred years ago?

I recall asking a Florentine lawyer-turned-chef-turned-culinary impresario why she had chosen food as her passion.

“Signora,” she replied, “we do not choose our passions. Our passions choose us.”

Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo chose me—along with legions of poets, song-writers, art sleuths, historians, designers, and devotees who have fallen under her spell. But for me, the attraction was never the painting. What intrigued me was the story of a flesh-and-blood woman, stretching deep into the past and woven into the rich fabric of Florentine history.

I wanted to venture beyond the frame, to time-travel through the centuries, and to see, feel, hear, even taste Renaissance Florence as Lisa might have. Beginning this summer, I will be blogging weekly about my quest for the real woman behind the iconic smile. Sign up (in the sidebar) and join me on this journey of discovery!

Comments

[Salvatore Prisco]

A few years ago I disputed a computer expert's interpretation of the smile on the Mona Lisa as a "self portrait" by Leonardo. The smile is clearly not Leonardo engaging in a self-congratulatory exercise. It
can be seen in earlier paintings such as The Virgin and Saint Ann
and was a trademark of DaVinci's presentation of the female form.
We should really try to appreciate art for art's sake and not read too
much into the artist's intentions.

[SeatteCiclista]

Diane,

I am not alone in waiting for your book, reserving a copy pre-publication months ago. It's always a pleasure reading your blog and now both of them. As an italophile who has a difficult time with language, but continues to struggle with learning italian, your blogs are a weekly treat.

Thank you for the fun of a "living" history of Italy, as I never know quite what books to pick up in the bookstores - and local libraries - here. It is easier to know what to read from the meta' del novecento than from today. Your off-hand mention of journalists and authors is helpful.