“Jump off cliffs. Develop your wings on the way down.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Left: Andy Warhol, Ingrid the Nun (1983). Private collection

Them Bones, Them Dry Bones

Once again, another round of stories has captured media attention and the public eye regarding the true identity of da Vinci’s, Mona Lisa. It appears to be the non-mystery that stubbornly resists solution, in light of decades of forensic study and scholarly examination. And if you’ve ever had the opportunity to see the diminutive work hanging in the Louvre, encased as it is, in a hermetically-sealed steel and bomb-proof glass vault, you might wonder what the fuss is all about. Does this painting, alone in the world of masterpieces, deserve a specially-designed, express elevator to the basement of the museum in the event of a terrorist catastrophe? xxxxxx

Perhaps it’s because the painting is only one of nineteen works on canvas completed during the lifetime of one of the greatest geniuses of recorded history. Or perhaps it’s because of our enduring desire to pierce the mystery of her beguiling smile and soothing eye contact—to truly know her—once and for all.

Everyone is pretty much in agreement that a Florentine noblewoman, Lisa Gherardini, was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting. It is thought she posed for the painting between 1503 and 1506, at the request of her husband, the wealthy Francesco Del Giocondo, who commissioned the portrait to celebrate either his wife’s pregnancy or the purchase of a house. Da Vinci’s records support the fact that he was working on this commission during the same period of time. After her husband’s untimely death, Gherardini became a nun. She died in 1542 at the age of 63 and was said to be buried near the altar at the Sant’Orsola convent, in Florence.

Yet, despite this convincing documentary evidence, historian Silvano Vinceti has taken samples from a skeleton buried at the convent—supposedly from her burial site—comparing them to DNA from the bones of some of Gherardini’s confirmed relatives, living in Italy today. If a DNA match is made, Professor Vinceti will make a 3D reconstruction of Gherardini’s face from the skull, as well as details in da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting.

The hoopla surrounding the true identity of the Mona Lisa is intriguing enough, but science and mere curiosity alone, do not offer adequate justification for the never ending intrigue, in my opinion. The quest is more humanistic—and even personal—if I may venture a theory. That smile, that warm glow of the flesh and eyes, the oft-posited theory of her pregnancy, and the enigmatic vulnerability of this long-deceased woman seem to defy the passage of time—hers, but not ours. The Mona Lisa has achieved a kind of immortality in the public imagination. Her demeanor and eternal beauty will never fade. But those crumbling and distorted bones—the ones beneath the convent altar—serve as a stark reminder of her mortality; and by a cruel and unintended extension, they confront us with the harsh reality of our own human vulnerability.

Leave well-enough alone. Merely having the investigative tools of science doesn’t mean they have to be employed in every case. Is it a betrayal to reveal to the world the harsh reality of Lisa Gherardini’s sad demise, a beautiful woman widowed early in life, only to live out her years in seclusion? Has science and our need to know, viz. social media’s prying eye, overstepped its bounds in the name of having all the facts? Or is it more comforting to perpetuate a mythology—emanating from that perpetual smile—about her apparent immortality…and maybe ours?

I’m in a contemplative mood as I listen to the lyrics of a song by Alice in Chains:

I believe them bones are me

Some say we’re born into the grave

*

I feel so alone, gonna end up a

Big ole pile of them bones

*

Dust rise right on over my time

Empty fossil of the new scene

*

I feel so alone, gonna end up a

Big ole pile of them bones

*

Toll due bad dream come true

I lie dead gone under red sky

*

I feel so alone, gonna end up a

Big ole pile of them bones.

______________

We already know the Mona Lisa, and she is us!

Thanks for reading ARTES Magazine

Richard J. Friswell, Publisher & Managing Editor

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