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The Mona Lisa
of the 21st Century
I shall call her The Mona Lisa Girl. The first word that came to mind a few minutes ago when I saw this image at flickr (untitled, by picturebuzz) was: stunning.The next word was: 'Mona Lisa.' It is the most pleasing, most meanings-full, most refreshing, most inspiring photograph I have ever seen. This one is untitled, her mother's Mona Lisa, and in black & white; Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is oil on wood. Nicolas Pioch (WebMuseum, Paris, ibiblio.org/) says it is the lady's 'enigmatic expression, which seems both alluring and aloof' that has given the painting universal fame. I can say the same of this image, a photo-painting, a work of art, a work of heart.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows, if you didn't notice (I don't like painted eyebrows in any case). The Mona Lisa Girl has them, unpainted and unretouched, and they add to the look of natural beauty, of vibrance. The Mona Lisa looks alive, they say; The Mona Lisa Girl is alive. The Mona Lisa looks at you; The Mona Lisa Girl looks at life. The Mona Lisa was a favorite painting of Leonardo da Vinci; The Mona Lisa Girl is mine.

15 June 2006