Psst. I'm Over Here.

The Mona Lisa is a victim of her own success. She lives in a basketball court-sized room behind green bulletproof glass, stanchioned off a dozen feet from her admirers. Visiting her was the most anticlimactic art experience I've ever had.

And it was fascinating. The room is large and packed with people. You can see her at the far end of the room as you enter but by the time you work your way through the crowd, the magic of the artwork has vanished. All you notice are the security measures and all of the humanity pressed against one another. Interestingly, it seems that most people feel the same way. As you collectively slink out of the Mona Lisa's basketball court, you want to make something good out of your famous art pilgrimage so you carefully investigate the artwork on the other walls. This further perplexes guests as they arrive to a room full of people looking at anything but the world's most famous piece of art. 

This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.

Probably Not What Leonardo Intended

I read yesterday that a French scientist scanned the Mona Lisa with a multispectral camera and discovered three hidden paintings beneath the surface of the Mona Lisa. Evidently, the real-life Florentine, Lisa Gherardini, is hidden within. It's not uncommon for artists to reuse canvases when works don't turn out just right but for there to be a natural progression from real-life to what may be the world's most well-known painting is noteworthy.

What better time to post my multispectral — or at least multi-camera — photograph of the Mona Lisa? Frankly, it was one of the biggest letdowns in the art world. Not only is she sitting at the end of what feels like a gymnasium but after you fight your way through hundreds of people to see her, she's stanchioned off by 10 feet and hiding behind a thick layer of greenish bullet-proof glass.

This is probably not what Leonardo da Vinci intended.

This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.