Visual Illusions: The Smile Of Mona Lisa - Deepstash
Centers of Progress

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Centers of Progress

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Visual Illusions: The Smile Of Mona Lisa

Visual Illusions: The Smile Of Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci pioneered the study of physiognomy by introducing the concepts of “moti mentali” contained in the Codex Urbinae, written between 1452 and 1519 and printed by Raffaelo du Fresne as Trattato della Pittura in 1651. Moti mentali can be translated as the representation of transient, dynamic mental states, thoughts and emotions. For da Vinci, the goal of portraitists should be representing the inner thoughts of their sitters, not just the external appearance.

Leonardo used this method around the mouth area in some of his portraits (like Mona Lisa and Bella Principessa).

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A Passion For Flying Machines

A Passion For Flying Machines

Ornithopters, human-powered flying machines which mimicked bird flight, were a fascination for him – and he drew many beautiful and innovative designs. However, bird flight was not fully understood at this time and he was unaware that a human being could never generate the required power to opera...

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3.6K reads

Water: The Vehicle Of Nature

Water: The Vehicle Of Nature

Leonardo da Vinci described water as “the vehicle of nature” (vetturale di natura), water being to the world what blood is to our bodies. From his earliest landscape drawings of a river cascading over rocks (1473), to the famous Mona Lisa (1503) and to his final deluge sketches (1517-18), a lot o...

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The Greatest Polymath

The Greatest Polymath

Leonardo da Vinci is generally recognised as one of the great figures of the Renaissance and one of the greatest ever polymaths.

As the world marks the 500th anniversary of his death, it’s important to look at some of the ways in which he showed that he was a thinker who w...

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A Mechanical Genius

A Mechanical Genius

Leonardo da Vinci is renowned for his inventions, works of art, studies of architecture and anatomical drawings.

The documents that survive show us his ideas for a wide range of devices, such as gliders, helicopters, parachutes, diving suits, cranes, gearb...

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The Last Supper

The Last Supper

Leonardo’s Last Supper is a prime example of the use of the mathematics of perspective. The architecture of the building around Jesus and the 12 apostles, as well as lines on the floor beneath the table, create a “vanishing point”, providing a subconscious focal point for the painting.

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Multilayered Portraits

Multilayered Portraits

In many of Leonardo’s portraits, it is almost impossible to say when one colour ends and another starts – and this is evident in some crucial parts of his paintings, such as the mouths of his sitters.

For example, the Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de Franc...

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A Mathematical Genius

A Mathematical Genius

Although da Vinci is best known for his artistic works, he considered himself more of a scientist than an artist. Mathematics – in particular, perspective, symmetry, proportions and geometry – had a significant influence over his drawings and paintings, and he was most certainly ahead of his time...

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The Vitruvius Man

The Vitruvius Man

Leonardo knew of Vitruvius’s work – that with the navel as the centre, a perfect circle could be drawn around a body with outstretched arms and legs. He realised that if arm span and height are related, the person would fit perfectly inside a square. His Vitruvian Man took these ...

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3.44K reads

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Wannabe surfer. Sometimes I read books and watch movies at the same time.

The Man who saw the future.

Related collections

More like this

1. Mona Lisa

1. Mona Lisa

Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci

Created in: 1503

Located in: Louvre, Paris

This painting is one of the most famous and recognized paintings in history. There have been many discussions on the enigmatic smiles of the Mona Lisa, on whet...

Who was Mona Lisa?

Who was Mona Lisa?

Over the past century, it has been proposed that Mona Lisa was a noblewoman – Isabella d’Este, Marquise of Mantua, or Costanza d’Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla.

Others have stared at that unsettling visage and seen the face of a man – Leonardo da Vinci himself, or...

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