Blog #3

I think everyone should be very familiar with this great masterpiece of Leonardo Da Vinci. La Gioconda, as known as Monalisa. There are many rumors about this masterpiece; some claims she was actually smiling at children who were playing in front of her; but some claims that this piece was actually self portrait of Da Vinci himself. When this piece was drawn, Monalisa just lost her daughter at her age of 24. She was over-depressed. Da Vinci tried many ways to make her smile, such as hiring musicians to play music for or sing songs to her. The smile shown on this piece was faint, but you can actually feel her joyness; faint smile and elegant and upright demeanor are the expression of womanhood. Her smile has such meanings that's why people said her smile was mysterious. Although this artpiece shows the excellent and skillful techniques; however, the psychological dimension in this painting actually is what attracts people the most. Only this painting expresses the mystery in her smile. There are many doubts on her smile: suppose she was actually smiling, then what was the meaning behind this smile? Was it sweet-natured smile from an amiable person? or was it sentimental smile from an emotional person? If this smile was an expression of the happiness or the expression of the virginity? I thin the answer to this question is hard to find. But from this painting, i could tell her smile definitely shows some myseteriousness.

Directed Blog #2: Donatello's Mary Magdalene

Donatello's Mary Magdalene was made for the Baptistry of Florence. Mary Magdalene was portrayed as waste away by her fastings and abstinence. I'm always interested in Mary Magdalene although i'm not religious to any specific religion. What i knew about her was as a prostitute. Also, there's been lots of sayings about her; some claims she was married to Jesus; however, of course the bible rejects such explanation. The Bible states that Jesus helped her from being possessed by seven demons. This is considered as transformation and purification. I think how her life transformed and changed is mystical. And from modern thinking, about how Jesus exorcised the demons should be considered as some kind of psychological treatment. Mary Magdalene hardly kept the only possibility of redemption with such sinful name and life, and with the belief of "understanding of love."Love can not only make the sinner reconcile, it can also make people reconcile in moral. the artpiece that makes me feel shock in the similar way is Edvard Munch. He had a rough life. Through several years, at the same time when he finally became famous, because of his addiction in drinking, he became extremely sick and unhealthy and he also fell in love with a married woman. This relationship made him suffer for long time and made him become very pessimistic in love and relationship, which such pessimism was shown in his paintings. He never stopped thinking about problems related to live, death and sex. He never stopped thinking, experiencing and paintings. Everything he had gone through helped him come up with the topic of his paintings: "Frieze of Life." Munch was also a poet. He wrote everything he sensed, felt, or some thinkings in poem. His painting focuses on people's psychological dimension, especially his. Until his late life, he never stopped exploring human mind. In his late life, he had many self-portraits. I like one portrait which he stood in front of the window in his house facing us. The snow scene outside the window makes people feel his loniliness in his late life; but i also think he actually faced this loniliness.

Leonardo Da Vinci