MONA LISA

by Bramly Serge

The woman in Leonardo da Vinci's work gazes out from the canvas with a quiet serenity. But what lies behind the famous smile? Shrouded in mystery, the Mona Lisa has attracted more speculation and questioning than any other work of art ever created. This work provides an "aide memoire" of the world's most famous painting. The full-page colour plates portray the Mona Lisa in close-up photographs, while Serge Bramly, the author, explores its shadowy history and the fascination the painting has engendered.

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may be fashionable to say that too much has already been written about the Mona Lisa. The merits of that statement can be debated elsewhere and Bramly’s essay in this book would offer choice talking point. He offers an erudite and rich introduction to the portrait that has held the many and the masses in her thrall over the past few decades. Not conclusions are offered but snapshots are presented so that we may consider her enigma more thoughtfully. A beautifully presented book too.

[Connelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief and allusive text that requires knowledge of previous scholarly work. Occasional illuminations, particularly with respect to da Vinci’s painting technique. The 80 pages are mostly illustrations: enlarged photographs of surface, colour, texture and craquelure, copies, reconstructions, reproductions and comparisons. These, in the 1996 Thames & Hudson edition, are beautifully printed and revelatory in their detail and finish.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

not so much a book as a paper -- but a paper that reaches no conclusion besides that the questions that the authors asks re the enigma of the mona lisa (who is she? when did leonardo create her) are unimportant. so...very strange.