A TED Talk by Noah Charney, delivered in January 2022, discusses a question of art history – namely, why the Mona Lisa became and remains arguably the most famous painting in the world. As the author points out, the theme may be fairly controversial between art historians, as the obvious explanation that it is a classic example of a Renaissance portrait does not suffice on its own. Instead, the author argues, the painting largely owes its fame and popularity to the “factors beyond the canvas (Charney 00:01:50 – 00:01:52). According to him, Mona Lisa’s rise to glory became due to the painting by the French king and displayed widely since 1550. It contributed to its sustained prestige in the later generations of the French monarchs, up to the point of Napoleon hanging it above his bed (Charney 00:02:28 – 00:02:29). However, as Charney argues, the single event most responsible for Mona Lisa’s popularity was the 1911 heist, when Vincenzo Peruggia stole it and smuggled it to Italy. According to Charney, this scandalous and mysterious affair solidified the worldwide fame of the Mona Lisa more than any other event.
However, the author’s reasoning is not entirely fool-proof either and raises questions of its own. When discussing the Peruggia heist, he specifically points out that the art thief saw himself “as an Italian patriot returning an old master’s work” (Charney 00:04:26 – 00:04:40). This means that the Mona Lisa was already perceived as a priceless piece of art before the heist, which, as Charney argues, was the single most important event in making it so famous. Considering the aforementioned implications of Italian patriotism, one should probably think more of the importance of the fact that the Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci’s work. The association with the greatest Italian Renaissance master is most likely a factor in its own right, which Charney does not talk about that much.
Work Cited
Charney, Noah. “Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?” TED, Web.