Letter to a Friend, Essay Example

Today I visited Florence, Italy where Leonardo da Vinci created the famous Mona Lisa. Although I’m glad that I had a chance to finally visit this beautiful city, a round-trip plane ticket cost me $1,184 but it seems that it was worth it for this once in a life time opportunity. I stayed in Hotel Toscana in an attempt to make this trip affordable. Interestingly, even though it was only a 2-star hotel, it cost $105 per night. This seemed like a lot of money, but the accommodations were very aesthetically pleasing and the beds were comfortable so I guess I can’t complain, although it would be strange to see how luxurious a five star hotel in the area would be in comparison.

Overall, my flight went smoothly. I made sure to take a late flight leaving the country so that I would be able to fall asleep on the plan and awake refreshed. I left here at 10 PM on Monday, and arrived 11 hours later in Florence. While it felt like it should be morning in Florence, it was 4 AM. By the time I arrived to the hotel, I was tired enough that I was able to sleep again for a few hours and I didn’t feel too jetlagged when I woke up.

Even though the Mona Lisa is no longer housed in Florence, it is easy to see where da Vinci got his motivation from. The colors he used in this piece reminded me of the countryside nearby. In addition, while not much is known about the subject of the painting, it seems that it was of a woman he admired, who could have possible grown up the area where it was painted. If she posed for him, she would have certainly needed to visit this town. While I nor no one else can figure out why Mona Lisa isn’t smiling, it’s even harder to figure out why now knowing the character of Florence.

Da Vinci himself was certainly an interesting artist, so it’s hard to determine his motivation. As urban legends go, he ripped off his own ear as a consequence of his torment. Many art historians approximate that this painting was completed in 1506, but in da Vinci’s own opinion it was never finished and he believed that he was never really able to finish any of the work that he started. Despite these specific uncertainties, it appears that this artist was highly influenced by King François I, who invited da Vinci to work for him near his castle.

The style of this piece is portraiture and was made during the High Renaissance. Two other well-known examples of this type of work are the self-portrait of Albrecht Durer and Maddalena Doni by Agnolo Doni. This type of work was very common during this time period because artists wished to capture images of their loved ones and individuals that could not create art wished to commission these pieces for themselves and other members of their family.

A majority of these paintings were created using oil paint, as these allowed for the greatest diversity of color to be used. In addition, many paintings of this time were created on poplar. The High Renaissance was an interesting time period because the focus shifted away from capturing images of nobles and royals, which led to common people becoming a focus of art. This challenged the conventions of what was traditionally held to be normal.

Overall, I think that this was a good experience for me and I now wish to travel to see the painting in France. While I’m here, I think I will take the opportunity to explore other types of art that have been created by the locals.

From my explorations, I have noticed that modern Florence must be very different from what it was like when da Vinci lived here. However, the community seems to be very culturally accepting of artists due to its history, which makes the overall experience here enjoyable and cultured.