Mona’s Eyes are Lettered
Leonardo, Detail of Mona Lisa
Last week we demonstrated how Nicolas Poussin’s Ordination includes the unseen face of Christ with Poussin’s own initial, N, painted over Christ’s eye. Christ, we explained, is the divine artist in Poussin’s own mind. Now news comes from Italy (via The Daily Telegraph1) that Leonardo da Vinci may have painted his initials, LV, into the right eye of the Mona Lisa. The president of Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage says that the letters are so small that they can only be seen under a magnifying glass. It’s exciting news because, if true, it clearly strengthens the theory that the Mona Lisa is Leonardo’s alter ego, the creative power in his mind like Poussin’s Christ in Poussin’s. Next week we’ll show you how Matisse did something similar, all three artists painting their own initials into the eyes of their innermost self.
Stay tuned……
P.S. See Matisse's Way with Eyes.
1. Nick Pisa, "Is there a Da Vinci code in the eyes of the Mona Lisa?", Daily Telegraph, Dec. 13th, 2010, p.20; another version of the article is online.
Posted 15 Dec 2010: Leonardo da VinciPortraiture
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