----- Original Message -----
Have you seen it in person?
I seriously doubt that seeing it in person would change my opinion about it.
It would give me a better view of LdV's technical skill with a paint brush,
but not much--there are some very detailed photos out there, and I don't
have to deal with a crowd and reflections on glass in order to view them.
And it's not a question of the details, the brush strokes, the exact
(current) shades of paint that makes me feel the painting is overrated; it's
the sort of thing that I can see even in a relatively low-resolution image
of it. It's a matter of composition, depth, lighting, and the way the
shadows are dealt with.
But then, I don't really care much for Italianate artwork of that period. I
don't like the diffuse lighting, I don't like the shading, I don't like the
arty blurring, I don't like the style of landscape painting, I don't like a
whole long laundry list of things about it. Personal taste, and it most
certainly affects my impressions of the Mona Lisa, but there you go. I'm
certainly not saying it's a BAD painting--in fact, I'd say it's pretty
good--but it is so very, very overrated.
And frankly, there have been very few paintings that didn't disappoint me
when I saw them in person! I wish it weren't so, but it is. The paintings
I like best are generally the ones that I saw in person first. There's this
one of Joan of Arc I've been trying to re-find for over a decade, but I
don't know the title, date, or artist....
-E House
(PS--I like Van Gogh's color choice, but doubt I'd pay more than about $35
for a painting by him. Other than the whole investment thing, of course.
Ditto Monet.)
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