Mona Lisa, You Again?

The first time I saw The Mona Lisa was in 1983. I wasn’t impressed. Sorry, Leonardo. Then again in 2008. Again, not impressed. But then came 2023.

The first two times I had to battle my way through a throng of people to get to a place close enough that I could see the Mona Lisa. The hordes pushed and shoved. I had to jockey for position, watch my purse, and hold my own against everyone insisting on taking a picture. I didn’t even make it to the front. When I was able to maneuver myself three rows in from her, I tried to zero in on the painting but the pressure of the crowd was too much for me. Anyway, I wasn’t blown over by it, so it was easy to leave.

I don’t know why everyone is so enthralled by the Mona Lisa, or as she is known in France, La Joconde. Is it simply because she is 500 years old? Is it because she was a real Florentine woman named Lisa Gheradini? Is it because it is worth at least $860,000,000? Beats me.

EarIier today, I had the chance to go visit her again. It was a cold afternoon in January and therefore, there were a lot of people indoors at the Louvre, but it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the past two times. No one was pushing, no one I needed to be aware of except the Mona Lisa. I made my way to the velvet rope without a hassle.

I glanced at her as I had in the past. This time, it felt different. Without a crowd massed around us, we took a moment to gaze at each other, enjoying each other’s presence. The lack of crowds seemed to please her as well. Her sly, subtle smile had a calming effect on me. People talk about the secrets behind her smile. But what was she trying to tell me? I grinned back. I have secrets, too, Mona. We kept our secrets to ourselves but we were happy to see each other.

Lisa was wed to a very wealthy Italian merchant who commissioned the portrait. Oddly, Leonardo da Vinci never turned it over. He took it with him to France when he was invited by King Francis l. Never having traveled out of Italy, I think she enjoyed the trip. Every trip I get to take makes me giddy. I enjoy traveling with my husband, my children, and my girlfriends...Nancy, Caitlin, Shea, Cindy, Corrina, Kristina, Kathleen, Pam, Lisa.🎶Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 🎶. But why did da Vinci take her with him rather than deliver his painting and get his money? Was she so beautiful he couldn’t bear to be separated from her? Or was the portrait, as some experts say, a combination of Lisa and the painter’s male lover?! She may have told me but I’ll never reveal.

Valleys, mountains, and the river in the background of the painting caught my attention. It was bright and inviting. Art historians disagree as to whether the landscape is fabricated or real. I choose to believe it was her actual surroundings. I want her to have lived in a beautiful place. Perhaps she picnicked on the banks of the river, played Hide-and-Seek with her children in the valley, or skied down those mountains in the winter. Did they ski in the 1500’s?

My experience reminded me about the story of a man who played a violin at a metro station in Washington, DC. A couple of people noticed him for a second or so, some even put a dollar in his cup but most walked by getting to work or finishing their errands. Turns out this metro musician was Joshua Bell, a renowned violinist who sells out concert halls at $100 a ticket. You see, you need to place yourself away from chaos, physically and mentally, surrounded by people who will take the time to see you for who you are, to appreciate you. That’s how Lisa and I became friends.

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