DA VINCI CODE

Da Vinci code

“ I have offended God and mankind ,because my work did not reach the quality it should have”-Leonardo of Vinci-Italy –  Painter and Man of science

A Hollywood mega movie based on top seller ‘Da Vinci code ‘was a record breaker. I never saw the movie due to unknown but yet unsuspicious reasons. It is based on cracking code in paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci. In this movie an Art Historian played by Tom hanks deciphers the hidden messages in Da Vinci works.

Vinci was a real life painter who excelled in the art and is considered as a foremost representative of his style which is inimitable. His style was termed as High Renaissance. The Italian painters works are spread in cathedrals and museums all over Europe .That he was a man of science was discovered later based on his writing and notings  in scrap and workbooks which contained engineering drawings and technical illustrations of inventions  which he wrote from Right to left requiring mirror to read it. His other jottings were studies in anatomy. He painted very limited paintings as his interests shifted from one subject to other. The famous being The Last supper and Mona Lisa

One of his famous paintings which has drawn awe all over world is ‘Mona Lisa’ an Oil on Panel painting of 77 by 55 centimeter dimension .It is a portrait of an lady, may be an unknown model but the painting became famous due to the demeanor of the woman who is in relaxed mood with an amused gaze .When I visited Louvre Museum there was a rush around this art piece and continuous clicking of cameras with flood of flashlights. It was difficult to get near it as many scrambled to get closer to it. May be art aficionados I thought .But the real reason is to look continuously at this painting which comes alive when you concentrate on it. Mona Lisa was painted in years 1503 to 1505.The facial anatomy is characterized by ample subcutaneous fats blending into various regions very smoothly a feat where facial muscles put optimum stress on the tissues above it to be expressive of amusement and relief in a dignified way. Only a man of science can achieve these expressive tones in eyes and the lips which are held in a small smile.

Leonardo strived to achieve perfection in drawings as for him they were work of science and design as much as works of Art. He used the technique of sfumato-Subtle blending of tones .It is said that Sfumato is beyond technique. It is a form of poem delimiting boundaries of human expression and form. In Mona Lisa the background too is mysterious as compared to plain background of portraits in that era.

Now Art historian Silvano Vincenti and his group are reading more into Mona Lisa painting and using high definition magnification of eyes in the painting have discerned Letters LV in her Right eye and C and E or B in left eye. Other group has discovered 72 or L and a 2 painted in the mysterious background bridge that forms the backdrop. This may be asking too much as if you look at any old building walls you tend to see faces and designs and letters init by chance occurrence as different patterns rise out of the paint wearing out. Mind sets change after people are exposed to media creativity just as they change after they witness a masterpiece such as Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a sensation as a painting but the persona in the portrait is not a celebrity albeit a high class woman who is exudes patience   and understanding. The woman is not beautiful by any standard like the Afghan Woman on the National Geographic who became a darling of literate elite in 1970s

Here I choose to digress a bit to drive in my point as I put on record the fact that I had the good fortune to own a copy of that issue which I held for a long while .Now I was never a subscriber of NatGeo  as I could never afford  it and surely felt  miserable for that state of affair envying those who had the access to the highly photogenic masterpieces which arrived with precise periodicity. Remember, there was no Television in those days but NatGeo Magazine was sufficient to arouse and satisfy that never ending desire and quest for unknown places and people across the globe .I was a proud owner of some issues which I had   purchased from roadside Kabadi shop. I would glance and flip through the issues again and again especially to admire the Afghan Woman on the cover for the perfection of her feature and the nativity of her expression. Eventually the National Geographic launched a ‘hunt’ for this remarkable woman and traced her to a small village in Afganistan.She did entertain the team from NatGeo but refused to remove the  Burkha to let everyone see her although a picture did appear on the magazine cover later. I was lucky once  again to watch the episodes on NatGeo  of her discovery or rather her rediscovery .How I had wished  I had that Magazine issue which got misplaced  as it  would have brought fortune and fame at my doorsteps.

The point I want to make is that Women are beautiful but Womanhood is more beautiful .To me this is Da Vinci Code ,a code of ethics and  immense character of a woman , a code of  morality and of dignity ,a code of conduct and  stature  and the only the inimitable  Leonardo Da Vinci could get  this code on a canvass in the form of a Portrait. Mona Lisa is an example of this superlative expression of womanhood on canvas and as it hangs  on the Parisian museum is a tribute to this humble great artist.

Another woman of equal stature would be Lady Diana and her immense stateliness and superiority .Anyone who saw her was awestruck by her poise and serenity. She was Womanhood personified .It is an enigma like the Da Vinci Code that she met sudden violent death with Dodi Fayed her very good friend   in one of the by lanes of Paris not very far from the famed painting of Mona Lisa