Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most exquisite work of arts. It's a half-length portrait of Lisa Gherardini. The first time I saw the Mona Lisa, I was wondering what all the fuss was about. I only saw a woman with an enigmatic smile. Surprisingly however, I couldn't take my eyes off it. There was something that kept my eyes glued to it. The lady in the portrait was not breathtakingly beautiful, she was not standing in any of the Tyra Banks kind of pose, she had no pouted lips, I mean the lady doesn't even have eyebrows but somehow she was captivating.
So being the curious girl I am, I decided to read more about the Mona Lisa. What I found out was amazing. What should have been an ordinary painting turned out to be one of the most famous arts of all time. Why? Because of the careful planning that went into the making of the Mona Lisa. Every little detail on the painting meant something. The look in her eyes, the posture or even her smile. There are even mathematical explanations for most of the details.{I will obviously not attempt to delve into that}
During the 15th century, where portraits where stiff,her informal posture would have been considered weird, or even wrong. However it was her imperfections;her hidden tales, her diversion from normality that made it THE MONA LISA today. When you look at the Mona Lisa, you do not focus on her imperfections, in fact you may even miss the fact that she has no eyebrows. All you see is Leonardo's labor in all its glory.
So why I'm I sharing my fascination with this art with you? Well its quite simple. Whenever I think of the Mona Lisa, I can't help but liken it to man {yes, you and I}. Like the portrait we are made up of layers upon layers. There are different depths to man. Individually we each have our strengths and "weaknesses" But sometimes, we focus so much on fixing our weaknesses or hiding them because we feel they are a disadvantage to us. What we fail to realize is that, our weaknesses and strengths alike makes us the unique being we are. We pay so much attention to what people say about us that we forget who we truly are.
Take a look in the mirror, see the marvelous work of art that you are. So what if you are shy and reserved. You do not do well in the spot light? Well, it is not a weakness. It only means you have the ability to carefully study things and discover what others may miss. If you are the active type, the type that embraces the crowd and is described as loud? This is not a weakness. When people loose the courage to talk, they will turn to you. If you are the hot-tempered type, bossy and authoritative with little tolerance for human errs. You probably will be branded "too-knowing", "know it all". But this matters not because when a stern hand is needed to get the job done, you will be the one for the job. Whatever you flaw maybe, embrace it. Make it work for you.Do not allow the negative comments get you down. You are a mystery waiting to unfold. Like the Mona Lisa, you are an exquisite work of art. Yes you may be made up of several curved lines and you probably may be missing some eyebrows. But you are perfect. You are exactly what you were meant to be. Embrace the glorious mess you are. There will never be anyone like YOU.
MONA LISA |
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