"We all know the face and hands of the figure, set in its marble chair, in that circle of fantastic rocks, as in some faint light under sea... It is beauty wrought upone flesh, the deposit, little cell by cell, of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions." - Walter Pater
The reason “The Mona Lisa” seems to enchant everyone who lays eyes on her is that the painting itself is so breath-taking and simple. It is the epitome of what true magnificence looks like. The portrait is not of a woman, but merely a beautiful representation of the ideas such as love, hope, and mystery.