A Face For All Women

A Face For All Women Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is perhaps the most questioned painting in history. The question of who she is is at the peak of the debates. Some believe she is merely a portrait of Da Vinci himself. However there is so much more to the painting than just Da Vinci painting himself as a woman. In Da Vinci’s time, women were viewed as a man’s slave. A woman would always be under her husband and listen to what he had to say without inputting her own thoughts. The Mona Lisa’s eyes and smile represent a women’s forced pleasant appearance, while the background and her clothes represent her mind and how nothing can neither enter nor leave. Women were not to be heard, just seen. Through her clothes, background, eyes, and smile it is seen that she represents the culture’s view on woman and the mystery about them. The clothes that Mona Lisa is wearing are very modest and traditional for that time period. She is wearing thick layers and a veil. The layers of her clothes represent her imprisonment. She is trapped by the man in her life, unable to reveal herself to others. In Da Vinci’s time, this was a common view of women. Women are to be seen, not heard. Her thoughts and opinions lie underneath the layers of clothing, because it takes that much to hold it all in. The veil on her head was a common garment worn to cover the face. With the veil over the face, although it is not in this picture, no one would be able to see a woman’s expression. Women were not allowed to express themselves. They were under control of a man, and in this subordinate role, were reduced to almost a slave like status. Women who spoke their minds were often punished by their husbands as they were an embarrassment to him. This results in a mysterious air surrounding every woman, an air that no one can figure out. The background of the painting resembles the path into the mind of a woman. On one side of the background, we see a mountainous valley with