We are all very aware of the popular artwork by Leonardo Da Vinci, The Mona Lisa. In this presentation I will examine two interpretations, and uses of this original artwork in modern times.

The original Mona Lisa was painted between the years 1503 and 1506. It is an oil painting, on a white wooden panel. It was said the subject may have been twenty-four year old Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, who was the wife of a prominent Florentine merchant.
However Leonardo never delivered the painting, and kept it with him for the rest of his life.
The Mona Lisa was acquired by King Francis I of France, and is now on permanent display in the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797.

Leonardo departed from tradition with this painting in many ways.
The Mona Lisa is portrayed without any jewelry, and the solid pyramidal form are two examples.
This painting is enchanting and mysterious. The Mona Lisa has a background against a scenery of hazy mountains. Looking at her facial expression, her warm smile is contradicted by the look in her eyes.
"It is this expressive complexity, and the sense of psychological presence it gives to the human face-especially in the context of the masklike detachment that was more characteristic of Renaissance portraiture that makes the innovative Mona Lisa so arresting and haunting, even today" (Stokstad pg. 636).

An Italian campaign promoting cancer awareness is catching attention to the spin on the classic Mona Lisa.
This advertisement was created by the Bologna-based ANT foundation in Italy, depicts the original Mona Lisa, but without any hair. Their slogan being
"Cancer changes your life, not its value"

Taking an artwork so well known like the Mona Lisa really turns heads when something is altered. In this situation it was, by removing Mona Lisa hair it portrays the message of how life changing cancer is, but at the same time the beauty of life itself. If I may say so myself, it is a very clever way to grab one's attention.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/11/bald-mona-lisa-ads-promote-cancer-awar...

Pantene hair products used the Mona Lisa in order to advertise for the hair time renewal product for dry and damaged hair. In the add the gave Mona Lisa a new, fuller hair style to symbolize how well their product works.
This ad ran world wide, and did very well.

What's the purpose and using older artworks and making changes to be used in modern society?
They send a message.
Yes not all do, Mona Lisa has been portrayed in many things from dating services, with a moustache, or even smoking a cigarette.

What I liked about the two examples I provided is the difference between the message. In the cancer add, it is original and has meaning behind it. Portraying the strength and beauty within the Mona Lisa. On the other hand in the Pantene ad, the goal is to catch your attention and sell a product.

In all art forms, paintings, and interpretations, there is a value of appreciation for the artist and their view, and the message.
Every artwork deserves respect, and thought to what it is the artist is trying to tell us.

It is important to evaluate the different artworks, and provide a comparison. The original pushed boundaries for its time period, and is a very respected art work.
The cancer awareness art piece I feel does not devalue the original, it empowers her.
However, I do feel the pantene ad is on the cheesy side, and adds no extra meaning to the original artwork.

In the end the modern pieces are replicas of the original with a modern twist in order to portray the message the artist wanted.

I feel the first example did the original justice, however the second example did not.

Taking a piece like the Mona Lisa deserves respect for the original, in a way changing it always risks devaluing the piece.

Stokstad, M., & Cothren, M. (2010). Art history: Volume 2. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/11/bald-mona-lisa-ads-promote-cancer-awar...

http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/pantene-pantene-for-mona-lisa-96...