A rant on art, people and ice-cream.
- Vetoh Ward in I. M. H. O.
- Resume
“There it is.”
He repeated the same thing every single time we walked in the Gioconda’s room. He stopped for a second and pointed at it, almost waiting for her to recognize him behind the flashing sea of asiameras (asians+cameras).
We walked two or three more dramatic steps. Then, as always, he stopped.
“Come here.”
I must have been six, seven, maybe younger, maybe older.
While obediently walking towards him, I already knew what was going to happen, and felt proud of my diligence.
“Boy, what’s behind us?” he asked with his usual sarcastic, reflexive tone.
“The Marriage of Canaan.”
“Correct. Which is…?”
“The biggest painting in the whole Louvre.”
“Indeed. And what’s before us?”
“ The Mona Lisa. ”
“..which is?”
“The proof that people don’t know what they want.”
“Exactly. Let’s go get an ice-cream.”
Now this may look as sheer brainwashing propaganda hitting a little, innocent kid. But I dare you to look closer in the matter of things.
We have a room covered in paintings inside The Museum, not any kind of Brooklyn art fair (which, btw, I adore). On the opposite side to the entrance rests on a wall The Gioconda, The Mona Lisa, a.k.a. The Most Famous Painting in The Whole World.
Now we’ve all heard the legend, we all know about her famous smile, her mysterious gaze. We’ve all read the DaVinci Code or at least seen the movie. We’ve all spent 10+ years seeing everyday, everywhere references to the painting.
Nobody has to tell us that’s the Mona Lisa. We could guess it immediately, even with our eyes closed. And this stands for everyone, art experts and amateurs alike.
Everyone from Australia to France (both ways) knows what we’re talking about.