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HUM200
1. Overview
Da Vinci’s painting brevity is depicted in evident in Mona Lisa and Last Supper paintings. The ability to use the panel of wood, oil paint, and tempera for making the paintings has put Da Vinci on the world map as the best painter. Last Supper is a divine art and displays the final gathering held by Jesus together with his twelve followers before his death. The horizons on the background of Mona Lisa’s portrait explains the universe and the role of women in creation. The paintings form an integral part of art (visual art) in humanities and are based on the chronology of creation, and that of Jesus recorded in the Bible.
2. Impact the Audience
Religion theme has a significant impact on believers since different symbols communicate different the message. The wine in the painting represents Jesus’ blood that was to be shed for human beings to receive forgiveness. The Passover party symbolizes the farewell party of Jesus with his students (Isaacson, 2017). A message of salvation through Jesus is passed and has a hope for believers, and the death of Jesus means well for all Christians. Similarly, Mona Lisa’s painting depicts how Italian ladies grew without any sophistication during the old days. A woman’s eyes provoke the curiosity of the audience.
3. Evidence
In Mona Lisa, Lisa Del Giocondo comes out as the subject matter, while in the Last Sipper, Jesus talks with his disciples are the subject matter. Jesus is depicted as the central figure while disciples look confused and shocked on their faces by Jesus’ statement that one of them will betray him. Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile looks uncertain as a result of how the subject matter is developed in the painting (Catani, 2019). Also, art reveals a reserved woman from a wealthy Italian family to illustrate a lady’s beauty in a plain but breath-taking fashion. When I view the smile from different angels, I question myself about the smile’s sincerity.
4. Personally
Mona Lisa and the Last Supper pictures reveal old cultural issues. The Last Supper picture shows Jesus and his Jewish students sharing a meal during the Passover party. The old Jewish cultural practices are represented fully by the painting. The Passover event is one of significant part of Jewish culture. Jews remember their liberation from slavery in Egypt; thus, the Last Supper painting stands as an icon of Jewish religious customs. Similarly, the Mona Lisa painting demonstrates the Italian culture. Dan Vinci’s love for Italian culture is depicted in Mona Lisa’s portrait. Historical sources reveal that a woman in the painting is a Francesco del Giocondo’s wife.
5. Studying the Humanities
The panel of wood and oil paint for making the paintings hence making me select the artifacts to study. The paintings are unique because they have no brushstrokes on the pictures. This kind of painting with no brush strokes makes its theme clear and meaningful; thus, I can understand with straining much. Also, oil and tempera are used for creating the Last Supper on plaster and a stone wall (Catani, 2019). The artifacts bring out the theme of religion and Christianity in the most efficient manner in which I can understand more easily.
6. Humanities
The study of humanities builds skills in writing and critical reading. Through humanities, a person can critically think in solving personal and professional issues that arise. Also, a person can study traditional wisdom, bring the knowledge to bear on a range of dynamic religious, economic, political, and social concerns that form the “heart” of human life and culture. At the society level, humanities help in developing informed and critical members (Skidmore, 2019). A society can understand other societies through their cultures, languages, and histories. Society gets to understand its societal heritage and culture as well as enabling members of a society to appreciate similarities in diverse cultures through ensuring ethical, religious, and an intellectual taste of the world. Humanities foster social justice and equality in society, as evident in Mona Lisa and Last Supper portraits in which the art has revealed different cultures such as Italian and Jewish cultures. Also, the paintings have demonstrated a sense of religion and social matters such as Italian fashion and style way of life.