Synopses & Reviews
The
Mona Lisa is widely recognized as the most famous painting in the history of art and an undeniable icon of pop culture. Her celebrated face is used to sell everything from champagne to automobiles, and appears on ashtrays, mouse pads, and refrigerator magnets. More than any other art object, the
Mona Lisa demonstrates that something can be high art and pop, classic and cool. Likewise, Donald Sassoon's elegant narrative is as much the story of one painting's ascendance to the status of global icon as it is the popularization of serious and distinguished art.
A professor and acclaimed writer, Sassoon provides a fascinating account of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius who created the picture; who the mysterious subject was; why it gained its unrivalled position in the art world; and how it has come to be used and abused by other artists and the international advertising industry. Lavishly illustrated, Becoming Mona Lisa is at once social, cultural, and art history of the highest order.
Review
"There may be more information here than most readers want, but Sassoon admirably summarizes the famous lady's mysterious past." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This is an important addition to Da Vinci studies, and scholars, students, and serious lay readers with an interest in the 'Last Supper' or the evolution of Western art will be rewarded by time spent with this volume." Library Journal
Review
"Sassoon has written an illuminating and entertaining biography of an icon." Booklist
About the Author
Donald Sassoon is professor of history at Queen Mary College at the University of London. He is the highly acclaimed author of Contemporary Italy: Economy, Society, and Politics since 1945 and One Hundred Years of Socialism, and is a frequent contributor to major British and European publications. He lives in London.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER ONE
Mona Lisa, the Smile and Lisa
CHAPTER TWO
A Revolutionary Painting
CHAPTER THREE
Lisa Enters the Louvre
CHAPTER FOUR
The Cult of Leonardo
CHAPTER FIVE
Mona Lisa Becomes Mysterious
CHAPTER SIX
Mona Lisa as a Visual Zeitgeist
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mona Kidnapped
CHAPTER EIGHT
Exploiting the Theft
CHAPTER NINE
Lisa Goes Pop
CHAPTER TEN
Lisa Goes Global
notes
bibliography
index