Art

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci

    Perhaps the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, completed in 1519, holds so much fascination for us. There are many mysteries that surround this painting. Why is she smiling? Who is she mourning, with her black veil? And, perhaps the most interesting, who is she? For almost half a millennium we have wondered who it is that has grabbed our attention. Maybe it is that mystery which keeps this painting so famous. There has been much speculation, as wild as the idea the she is really Leonardo Da Vinci as a woman.While it is now generally accepted that the woman in the painting is in fact Lisa del Giocando, many people prefer to believe the other wild stories about the woman's true identity.

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci

    There is a lot of controversy surrounding this painting. The publication of Dan Brown's novels has raised many questions about the intentions of Da Vinci in painting it. At the time of it's painting, the late 15th century, it was revolutionary. Instead of painting Jesus and His disciples with the plain, emotionless faces they were traditionally depicted with, he chose a specific moment in Biblical literature, the moment when Jesus tells His disciples one of them will betray Him, and chooses to relay their emotions and facial expressions. Some of the mysteries surrounding the painting include the figure on the right hand side of Jesus. Many claim that this figure is Mary Magdalene and that she was the wife of Jesus. Another element of secrecy in the painting is in the Biblical story it is depciting. When Jesus tells His disciples one of them will betray Him, they do not know who it will be. Judas, the eventual betrayer, does not even know it will be him. There is an element of the unknown future here. And even though a portion of the future is known, it is not prevented. If we did know the secrets of the future, would we be able to change them?

Street Art

    In these photographs, people are camouflaging themselves into the surroundings.While some may argue that this isn't art, the validity of street art has increased over time. The movement of dadaism (anything can be art) is growing. In these two photographs (artist(s) anonymous), it may at first be difficult to see where the models are. These art installments show that secrets often hide in plain view. Many people passing the female model on the street would walk right by without even noticing her. People are so absorbed in their own lives that they often miss the hidden things surrounding them.

Underground Railroad by Phil Collins

    The artist of this painting chose to depict the struggle of keeping hidden from those who wish to persecute you in this painting of escaping slaves.  The truly terrified looks on the runaway's faces show the fear that they have. They are frightened that the secret of their location will be discovered. In contrast to the burden that keeping a secret holds, exhibited in art pieces like Harlequin by Picasso and Armor by Corot, this shows the burden that revealing secrets can hold. Sometimes secrets are necessary and this image shows that. While some may make blatant statements that secrets are always wrong and everything should be honest, this painting challenges that view. By seeing the distress that these people are under from the fear of revelation of their secret, we would have to rethink that previous statement. There are good uses of secrets, as clearly shown here. To read more from our site on the underground railroad click here.

The Son of Man by Rene Magritte

    This painting, finished by the surrealist artist Magritte in 1964, is keeping the face of the man a secret by hiding it with an apple. The man appears in a business suit, possibly conveying the idea that business is not always honest. Often in business, through practices such as "off the books" transactions, people are not honest. In Ponzi schemes, such as the recent Bernie Madoff fiasco, this is especially true. The real business is hidden while a fake front is put in front of the person to distract them. The beautiful, shiny apple in front of the man's face is there to distract the viewer from looking for his real identity. Similarly, in the Bernie Madoff example, he would dangle huge figures in front of them, claiming that he could make them exuberant amounts of money. These huge numbers would distract people from looking beyond and really finding out what was happening behind the "mask". The painting offers an important lesson, not to be distracted by the obvious and beautiful. Look beyond that to see the truth.

The Lovers by Rene Magritte

    Magritte, a French surrelist, painted this in 1928. The identities of the people in the painting are hidden. This could symbolize the way that people keep things from their partners in a relationship. Magritte may be portraying that even though people do not know everything about each other, they can still be in love. When we know everything about another person, the relationship can become stagnant. Perhaps the best relationships are those in which we learn something new about the other person everyday, or quite often. We do not become bored with these relationships and are continually interested in intrigued by the other person. Another interpretation of the painting could be that the two are in love but cannot be together for some reason. Maybe their families do not agree with the match or they are of different ethnicities and kept apart because of it. For this reason, they may be forced to keep their love a secret, and in turn a huge part of themselves. In the video posted on the Confidentiality page, a soldier is refrained from telling his family about his love because he is gay. He is therefore hiding a huge part of himself, like the subjects of this painting are also doing.

Les Dedsmoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso

    Painted in 1907 by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in the cubist style, this painting depicts five prostitutes. Three of them are wearing African masks. Picasso chooses to keep their faces a secret. In order to convey the metaphorical hidden identities of a prostitute he put them in literal masks. In that line of work, women do not have an identity to their employers, they are not treated as people but goods. Their true selves become hidden. They may also want to keep their own identities a secret because they are ashamed of their work. They wish that what they do remains a secret. Similarly to Armor, by Odilon Redon and discussed below, they choose to hide themselves so that they are protected from getting hurt by the outside world.

Harlequin by Pablo Picasso

    Harlequin, painted in 1927 also by cubist artist Pablo Picasso, shows the feelings of a trapped person. The anxiety and anxiousness to escape is clearly exhibited by the screaming mouth and pained eyes. The whole figure seems to be falling apart. During this time in Picasso's life he was trapped in an unhappy marriage and may have been already having an affair with Marie-Therese Walter. He may have been influenced by the feeling of being trapped within his secret affair. When we keep secrets, we carry a heavy burden. We often want to tell others and be honest, but are prevented because we cannot share our secret. The painting shows just how heavy that burden is .

The Curious Little Girl by Camille Corot

    This painting was completed 1964 by the French artist Camille Corot. The title of the painting shows how mystery enthralls us, even at a young age. The little girl wants to know what is beyond the wall, to uncover the secrets hidden there.She is going to look over the wall to see what is there and uncover the secrets. It is a natural part of human nature to be curious and want to uncover secrets. We have a natural instinct to "look behind the wall" that is exhibited in this painting.  

Armor by Odilon Redon

    This 1891 painting shows hidden identity very well. It is a depiction of what someone may feel like when they are keeping secrets about themselves. The mask is dark and black, showing the darkness of holding secrets. The black spikes surrounding her head also show the negative nature of secrets. The title of the painting, Armor, tells us why some people keep secrets. They feel that it gives them protection from the outside world. If people don't really know you they can't hurt you. However, at least in Redon's opinion, it is better to show yourself to people than to be hidden and "safe".


Sources
  • Alechinsky, Pierre. The Secret. 1961. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/the_secret_pierre_alechinsky/objectview_enlarge.aspx?page=1&sort=6&sortdir=asc&keyword=secret&fp=1&dd1=0&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=0&OID=150008157&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0>.
  • Picasso, Pablo. Les Demoiselles D'Avignon. 1907. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Mae Travels. 20 Jan. 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://maetravels.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-do-i-like-african-masks.html>.
  • Da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 1503. The Louvre, Paris. 6SS@NIST. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://6ssatnist.wordpress.com/author/18jinj/>.
  • Magritte, Rene. The Son of Man. 1964. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Son_of_Man_%28Magritte%29>.
  • Collins, Paul. Underground Railroad. Heritage Art. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://heritagesart.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1914>.
  • "Baby Doll » Street Art – Camouflage." Baby Doll. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.babydoll.ws/2009/02/24/street-art-camouflage/>.
  • Magritte, Rene. The Lovers. 1928. Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A3692&page_number=4&template_id=1&sort_order=1>.
  • Picasso, Pablo. Harlequin. 1927. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/harlequin_pablo_picasso/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=6&sortdir=asc&keyword=trapped&fp=1&dd1=0&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=0&OID=210007059&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0>.
  • Da Vinci, Leonardo. The Last Supper. 1498. Santa Maria Della Grazia, Milan. JayDax Computer Information Centre. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. http://www.jaydax.co.uk/lastsupper/lastsupper.htm.
  • Corot, Camille. The Curious LIttle Girl. 1864. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/the_curious_little_girl_camille_corot/objectview.aspx?page=2&sort=6&sortdir=asc&keyword=Impressionism&fp=1&dd1=0&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=0&OID=110002447&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0.
  • Redon, Odilon. Armor. 1891. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/armor_odilon_redon/objectview.aspx?page=5&sort=6&sortdir=asc&keyword=Impressionism&fp=1&dd1=0&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=0&OID=90006761&vT=1&hi=0&ov=0>.