What can Rhetorical Theory, Visual Literacy and Visual Immersion teach us about Da Vinci’s motives for creating a living smile on Mona Lisa?

Visual rhetoric is the creation of a visual argument or a persuasion through a visual narrative. As proposed by Aristotle there are three modes of persuasion namely, ethos, pathos, and logos characterized as the “rhetorical triangle” (Meyer 2012, 249-252). Ethos regard speaker credibility and the temperament of the speaker. Pathos is the emotional appeals positioned by the speaker and thirdly logos concern the use of logic in the form of an argument (Meyer 2012, 249-252). Da Vinci’s ethos can be demonstrated by his scientific research, style and technique of painting. His scientific observations on light and shadow and peculiar interests in anatomy enabled him to discover the physical mechanisms of the human smile and that objects in nature were three-dimensional and outlined by light and shadow (Isaacson 2017, under “Culture”). Furthermore, his techniques of painting essentially chiaroscuro and sfumato is a remarkable contribution to the art of oil painting. While the aforementioned studies and techniques defined da Vinci's temperament as an artist, scientist, and mathematician, they were further used to establish credibility for his work.?

Figure 1. Anatomical sketches by da Vinci. Courtesy of the Atlantic, accessed October 13, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/11/leonardo-da-vinci-mona-lisa-smile/540636/.?

Moreover, apart from the use of intense colours, he powerfully captured the gaze of Mona Lisa in a way that seems to react to the viewer’s gaze. He skillfully employed the gaze of the subject which is surrounded by a dramatic landscape of intense colour to deliver his ideas in a way that seems to ignite dynamic emotions in the viewer. His visual actions, especially the enigmatic smile and her gaze demonstrate pathos driven persuasion in Mona Lisa.?

While the overall sense of harmony that is apparent in Mona Lisa’s pose and tranquillity of valleys express the notion of union between humanity and nature, her mysterious smile brings into light his ultimate realization about human emotion. The science, the technique and the art all soften reality and shift the viewer to augmented reality. It is a representation of da Vinci’s accumulated wisdom about the connections between humans and nature, about the outward manifestation of our inner selves and a heartfelt reconciliation on what it means to be human. Thus, it can be suggested da Vinci consciously contained logos driven persuasion in the portrait of Mona Lisa.?

Visual rhetoric in Mona Lisa defines the conscious communicative decisions that were made by da Vinci to articulate an idea, inspire or inform the viewer of his discoveries. Mona Lisa is a magnificent depiction of reality, a woman sitting on her balcony but yet her emotions are brilliantly augmented by science and optical illusions. Not only does she display a complex series of emotions, but also provokes an intricate series of psychological reactions in the viewer. Her gaze and her faint smile make a viewer wonder about her thoughts and question her emotional expressions, leaving the viewer hanging on to a string of curious thoughts. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is symbolic, involves human intervention and was presented for communication which suggests that Mona Lisa is visually rhetorical.?

Many have attempted to carefully peruse Mona Lisa with a curious perception and interpreted various messages of the visual creation. However, it appears that today much of the attention is centralized around what’s palpable in the painting. Many theorists and admirers of Mona Lisa are immersed in the idea of resolving Lisa Giocondo’s identity, her family and details of her marriage. There are heresy theorists who make an effort to prove that details in Mona Lisa indicate that da Vinci was involved in a religious cult. Then there are geo theorists who continuously attempt to identify the landscape in the painting. Much of this could be due to the fame it acquired through novels, movies and peculiar stories that were written about da Vinci. Milton Esterow who is a reputed author and the editor of the ARTnews states in his article “Many many theories about Leonardo da Vinci” that most of these eccentric claims were driven by Dan Brown’s The da Vinci Code, which speaks of hidden codes, symbols and messages in Mona Lisa. It appears that many have drowned in these vivid details of the painting and overlooked its striking realism.?

Da Vinci mastered the technique of sfumato and created unnoticeable transitions between colours and light and shade. His brushstrokes were so smooth and invisible they blended everything in the manner of smoke. Da Vinci’s obsession with light and shadow permitted him to create the sinuous drapes of Liza’s dress, veil, hair and the luminescence of her skin with layers of translucent colour. So crystalline that made her face glow, giving the painting a divine, magical quality. Nevertheless, today’s art critics and theorists seem to solely focus on Lisa’s mysterious smile, her identity and the landscape behind her and not its realism. For instance, Vasari wrote in his biography of da Vinci: “As art may imitate nature, she does not appear to be painted, but truly of flesh and blood. On looking closely at the pit of her throat, one could swear that the pulses were beating” (Isaacson 2017, 675-699). This realism da?Vinci achieved in Mona Lisa is an outcome of his thorough observations in science and nature. From human anatomical observations, he was able to determine the size in space and positioned Mona Lisa’s torso, head and eyes in perspective which made her appear to be in the direction of the viewer. Da Vinci also noted the difference between the subject and objects in the background and painted the background landscape in aerial perspective to deceit depth. Thus, the far most mountains and valleys in the landscape appear smaller in scale, in muted tones and in less detailed outlines. His interests in science, light and atmosphere make us think that he took the approach of a scientist but yet he translated his knowledge into a painting with elegance and competence. Almost as if though the painting is not significant but the knowledge he acquired.?

Figure 2. Da Vinci, Leonardo. 1503. Mona Lisa. Oil on canvas. Accessed September 11, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa.?

Our eyes continually shift from places like the soft clouds to intricate details such as the drapery. The contrast between these areas is so cohesive and realistic and often seem to be neglected. Mona Lisa looks so natural and has become so familiar to us that we have failed to realise how innovative this painting is to be done at the beginning of the 16th century. It appears that Mona Lisa was absolutely ahead of its time.?

It appears that institutions and museums must take progressive measures to facilitate better communication and comprehension of visual artefacts. Perhaps an adaptation of innovative technological solutions such as Virtual Reality can contribute to expanding knowledge of things that are inaccessible and assist in enhancing the learning experience. Virtual Reality is increasingly widespread in educational and informational industries as these technologies are completely altering user interactions while enabling new immersion experiences. Furthermore, it can also offer complementary information in an engaging way that enables viewers to have a favourable understanding of artefacts, ideas and the intended purpose.?

Some museums are looking at how Virtual Reality can integrate scenarios of the phenomenal experience of immersive technology to remodel the paragon of information visualisation and user interaction (Vas, Fernandez, and Veiga 2018, 30-53). The Louvre, Paris has exceptionally integrated this model of immersive technology for information visualisation and interaction to da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in an extraordinary way. “Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass” is a virtual reality (VR) experience that enables the visitor to have an enhanced personal encounter with the artwork which is impossible in reality due to the heightened popularity around the painting (VIVE Arts 2019). Through the amplified virtual experience, the viewer gets an insight into explicit details of the painting including a view of the texture of the wood panels through the numerous paint layers (VIVE Arts 2019). The virtual reality experience ships the viewer to the Renaissance era unveiling the original creation of the artwork and above all narrating the story of Mona Lisa’s identity in a deeply engaging way (VIVE Arts 2019). However, this virtual experience can be further enhanced by integrating elements that may heighten the capability of the viewer to negotiate the meanings of the visual artefact. One method could be to create a computer-generated Renaissance portrait of the viewer in da Vinci’s painting style.?

Figure 3. Mona Lisa, Beyond the Glass virtual tour at the Louvre Museum. Courtesy of VIVE Arts, accessed September 07, 2020, https://arts.vive.com/us/articles/projects/art-photography/mona_lisa_beyond_the_glass/?

Before the visitor begins the virtual tour, he/she can undergo a biometric facial scan for a thorough screening of the visitor’s facial features. Through years of research and analysis scientists and analysts have determined da Vinci’s techniques and style of painting, media and use of space and perspective in his portraits. This data together with the results of the facial scan could be fed to a server to create a computer-generated replica of the Mona Lisa but taking the visitor as the subject of the painting. In doing so the visitor may subsequently develop skills to observe the realism of the painting by comparison and reason their understanding of the visual artefact through a personal lens.

Figure 4. Computer-generated Renaissance portrait of the user. Courtesy of Colossal, accessed October 30, 2020, https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/07/drew-gardner-descendants/.?

This proposal can further assist to personalise visual rhetoric and visual literacy as the visitor learns to notice the important details by familiarizing themselves with the visual artefact. The visitor should also be able to access their personal portraits through the museum website and share it on social media platforms to create awareness and to acknowledge da Vinci’s achievements of merging art, optics and science in creating an innovative masterpiece. This approach can contribute to intensify interest in da Vinci’s work, enhance the learning experience of visual literacy and facilitate a better understanding of da Vinci’s rhetorical motives for creating Mona Lisa.?

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Resources

Esterow, Milton. 2019. “The many, many theories about Leonardo da Vinci”. The Atlantic, May 12, 2019. Accessed September 01, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/05/leonardo-da-vinci-500-years-later-theories-still-abound/588757/?

Isaacson, Walter. 2017. Leonardo da Vinci. New York: Simon & Schuster. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.scribd.com/read/360105526/Leonardo-da-Vinci#b_search-menu_450804.?

Isaacson, Walter. 2017. “The Science behind Mona Lisa’s smile”. The Atlantic, November 2017. Accessed September 01, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/11/leonardo-da-vinci-mona-lisa-smile/540636/?

Meyer, Michel. 2012. “Aristotle's Rhetoric.” Topoi: An International Review of Philosophy 31, no.02: 249-252. Accessed August 20, 2020. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11245-012-9132-0.?

Vaz, Roberto, Paula Fernandes and Ana Veiga. 2018. “Interactive Technologies in Museums: How Digital Installations and Media Are Enhancing the Visitors’ Experience”. In Handbook of Research on Technological Developments for Cultural Heritage and ETourism Applications, eds. Joao Rodrigues, Célia M. Q. Ramos, Pedro J. S. Cardoso, and Cláudia Henriques, 30-53. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Accessed August 28, 2020. https://doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2927-9.?

VIVE Arts. 2019. “Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass.” HTC VIVE Arts, Art and Photography. Accessed September 05, 2020. https://arts.vive.com/us/articles/projects/art-photography/mona_lisa_beyond_the_glass/.?