Hi my name is Derek! I'm a writer, photographer, and a digital artist. For the last 6+ years i've been working on a book called: "Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter". It's mostly about different discoveries I've made with Leonardo da Vinci's art: Inluding the Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Vitruvian Man, The Shroud of Turin, and more. It's a long story (hence the book) but I found that he used a previously un-discovered techniques to hide/ disguise additional images in his art that can't be seen without knowing how.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” -daVinci
To understand what I've found has led me to research other subjects that include optics, perception, perspective, humanities, optical illusions, and our vision system. These same subjects were explained in epic detail in Leonardo's own journals. It was through his journals and studying them with modern technology, that I have been able to understand how he achieved this "new" technique.
"I reveal to men the origin of the first, or perhaps second cause of their existence." daVinci
He was the first to conceive of tanks, planes, robots, automobiles, parachutes, submarines, and other things that were FAR ahead of their time. This inventiveness wasn't limited to engineering and inventions but also to revolutionizing art and painting. Anamorphosis, stereography, "photography", 3D and painting with transparent layers “Sfumato” were in his technical artistic arsenal. What I’ve discovered will add even more advanced achievements to the ever increasing legacy of the amazing Leonardo da Vinci.
“All of our knowledge has it's origins in our perceptions.” -daVinci
My book will follow the journey i've been on in something i'm calling "Interjections" that are interwoven between each chapter. How did a 20'something go from working as a receptionist & going to community college to running away to Australia and eventually to writing a book about Leonardo da Vinci? Why? How?
You can preview "Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter" by going through this site and visiting my blog.
"Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?" -daVinci
We're always under construction so please forgive any errors. Spreading the word about this site helps me out a lot. Thanks! Contact me:
"Science is the observation of things possible, whether present or past. Prescience is the knowledge of things which may come to pass, though but slowly." - daVinci
Links: #'s In Mona's Eyes | Lisa Gherardini? | Mona Lisa's true Identity | Mona Lisa's Eye Brows? |Horoscope? | MON SALAI
The Mona Lisa
This is the Mona Lisa. The most famous work of art in the world. Who she is, when she was painted, and even how she was painted are mysteries. You might wonder why? Why are there mysteries about a painting from someone who seemed to write almost everything down? In all of Da Vinci's hundreds of thousands of pages of journals, he mentions nothing seemingly specific about this painting. Instead his journals are written to teach someone how to truly see her. Once you can do that, then all of the mysteries turn from coincidences to clues.
Without giving too much away, (you gotta get the book for the details) Here is a preview of what I've discovered and some excerpts from the Chapter(s) on the fantastic Mona Lisa.
"Who is the girl in this painting? The wife of a wealthy silk merchant? -Lisa Gherardini? Or how about a self portrait of Da Vinci as a woman? A figment of his imagination? Or could it be something more than anyone else could imagine? It is, after all, the most famous work of art in existence –but why?. Mona Lisa has been a mystery for over 500 hundred years. The time has come to reveal her mysteries, one layer at a time.
So I know what you’re probably thinking “what the hell is he talking about?” or maybe you just want a simple answer to one of the biggest mysteries of our time. WHO IS THE MONA LISA??? If I was asked to answer that with a single sentence it would pretty difficult. It’s taken almost a year of my life and starting, and having to stop and re-write this book several times. Every time I would get close to finishing I would end up unraveling more of the mystery and have to start over. So put in the most simple, yet cryptic way; the Mona Lisa is Love’s Prison. She’s a daughter, a mother, and a father – all at the same time. She’s the future and the past, and a single moment in time. She’s not just a painting, she’s alive and she has plenty to say.
SO, What is the Mona Lisa?
A painting! The most famous painting. The greatest Painting painted by the Greatest Painter. Probably the most famous face in the world. The most revered, the most copied, the most intriguing smile.. It’s a phenomenon, a cult classic, the epitome of genius design and execution. In a world where things hardly ever live up to their reputation, I assure you the Mona Lisa surpasses all.
This is what is commonly accepted about the Mona Lisa:"
It’s 30 × 21
inches
-
I
t’s painted on
Poplar wood.
-
It's said to be
painted between 1503-1507
-
There are 3 other
paintings underneath the top coat – (she was x-rayed)
-
It’s owned by the
French government and housed in the Louvre
-
It's a painting of
“Lisa Giocondo.” Sometimes titled; La Giaconda (Italian) or La
Jaconde (in French)
The Mona Lisa once
held Guinness’s world record for the most expensive painting of all
time. It was valued for insurance reasons at 100 million dollars- but
that was over 20 years ago. If you were to calculate inflation and the
revived attention Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa have been getting it would
probably be worth close to a billion dollars!
It’s not just the painting but Da Vinci too. At an auction for some of
Da Vinci’s journals, Bill Gates paid over 30 million dollars for a
collection of Notebooks - for some pieces of paper!
That should make you realize how significant Da Vinci and his work are
even after 500 years.
The Mona Lisa has been
copied, defaced, and even mocked. Cartoons have been made of her.
Britney Spears and Guster even have a song titled; Mona Lisa! She’s also
starred in movies like Mona
Lisa Smile. Recently The
Da Vinci Code has made
over 600 million dollars world wide and as the name suggests, Da Vinci
had a lot to do with it. But is there really a code? Secret societies
and cover ups?
The Mysteries:
Now
that you know what’s “known” about the painting I should also go over
what’s not known.
-
Who the woman in the painting really was?
-
Why Da Vinci’s Self portrait matches up with the
face of Mona Lisa?
-
Why there are three other paintings underneath
and what are they of?
-
Why the perspective in the background is “off”
or unexpectedly rises behind Lisa?
It “should” be like
this:
Why she wasn’t given to Lisa, since it’s said
she was commissioned? (someone paid Da Vinci to paint it)
Why?
-
Why it’s said he painted her for 4 years and
left her unfinished, but she is finished?
-
Why Da Vinci didn’t name the painting or write
down who she was? (he wrote thousands of pages of information but
nothing about a painting he spent years on?)
-
Why someone cut off the edges of the painting
when Da Vinci died? (When Da Vinci Died someone cut off the sides –
there used to be pillars there)
-
Why there are layers of paint, invisible to the
naked eye? (why would he paint something that couldn’t be seen?)
-
Why so many people disagree on the facial
expression?
-
How he painted it? (there are no brush strokes)
- Why can’t we agree
on her expression?
- Why are there even
mysteries to begin with?
- Why did Da Vinci
intentionally create these mysteries??
One question answered:
Why the perspective unexpectedly rises behind the sitter.
No one has ever been explain to
explain this seemingly obvious mistake. If you take a copy of the Mona Lisa and
roll it up so that it's outer edges touch, you'll notice they align. In
the two copies above you can see what i mean. You'll see that they match up.
When rolled up, it becomes even more obvious.
This painting
also used to have pillars on it's side that were removed when Da Vinci died in
1519. I believe this to be a clue to help someone figure this out. It's suppose
to make you ask: "why would someone cut off the sides of the Mona Lisa?" and
it's in asking that question that leads you to many more. The demonstration
above wouldn't be possible with the pillars intact.
The next and
biggest mystery about the Mona Lisa is who she actually was. Most experts and
art historians say that it's Lisa Giacondo, or Lisa Gherardini. This might be true in a different version of the painting, but not
the painting we're talking about. It's very possible Da Vinci painted a portrait
of Lisa Gherardini but that doesn't mean that this painting is her. Da Vinci's
own self portrait matches up with the face of the Mona Lisa.
This is just
one reason why the woman in the painting isn't Lisa Gherardini. In my book I
give plenty more. I compare the other names the painting has gone by:
"A Certain Florentine Lady"
"A courtesan in gauze veil"
"La Joconde"
"Mona Lisa"
"La Giaconda"
I will explain the significance to all of this later but for now just
contemplate the coincidences. Leonardo paints a portrait of a woman starting in 1503. At this time her identity
is unknown since the first to say who it was didn’t assert anything
until 30 years after Da Vinci’s death.
There
is a list of his paintings with the title “La Joconde” that
describes a portrait of a woman that matches the painting. This is why
Mona Lisa sometimes titled: La Joconde. Before
Vasari said it was “Mona Lisa” the painting went by the names:
A
certain Florentine lady” “A
courtesan in a gauze veil.” La Giaconda
Then after Da Vinci’s
death and 30 years later Vasari wrote:“Leonardo
undertook to execute, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona
Lisa,
his wife; and after toiling over it for four years, he left it
unfinished; and the work is now in the collection of King Fraces of
France, at Fontainebleau.” – Vasari After this the
painting goes by the title “Mona Lisa"
-
The alternative title “La Joconde” means “light
hearted” in French. Jocund means “light hearted” in English.
-
Francesco del Giocondo’s last name: Giocondo in
the feminine form- La Giocanda also means “light hearted Woman"
SO. La Jaconde -> La Gioconda -> Madam Lisa Giocondo = Mona Lisa The coincidence is that all these titles are related but from different sources. There is a little French/ Italian word play going on. This means that coincidentally the name on a piece of paper, the last name of the supposed sitter, and her expression- all happen to be related in a strange, complicated, coincidental way.. Mon Salai - "My Salai" is also in French. Da Vinci died while living with the King of France so it's more than possible for this to be intentional. (He obviously knew french.) By the end of my book I should be able to prove within a shadow of a doubt that Lisa Giocondo is not the woman in the painting and that she was used for her name and not her face. I’m not saying that she didn’t exist! (she did, news articles and a new page coming soon) She was actually probably dead before Vasari said it was her anyways. Besides, back then they didn’t have photographs or anything to show that the woman in the painting was really Lisa Gioconda. So no one would have known or been able to tell if the girl in the painting was really the real Lisa G or not. I wasn't the first to notice that Da Vinc's own self portrait aligned with the Mona LIsa but I am the first to realize that they combine. The image below is Da Vinci's self portrait and the Mona Lisa combined.This is the Mona Lisa and Da Vinci's Self portrait combined.
You'll notice
that not only do they align perfectly, the red in Da Vinci's self portrait acts
like a mask over Mona's face and alters it. Interestingly it ages the woman but
in a way that actually looks like it was intended. It was. Da Vinci's self
portrait was designed to do this. The History of the
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa has a past
that’s even more intriguing and controversial than her smile. There
seems to be almost too much vagueness and things that don’t make sense
for something created by someone who left behind thousands of notes and
journals. Why there’s even conflicting information makes me wonder;
what’s really going on? History is full of
misconceptions but the story behind Mona Lisa is more than just a
difference of opinion but more like a pre
meditated advertising scheme.
Why didn’t Da Vinci just leave a date
and title or anything about the painting? It seems like that should be
the real mystery! What reason could he have behind not labeling this
painting or even mentioning her anywhere? Everything we “know’
about the Mona Lisa including the title is from Vasari. He wrote the
first biography of Leonardo around 1550. He said that Da Vinci worked on
the Mona Lisa for four years but didn’t part with her until around 1517
when he went to France to work for King François I. The king either
bought the painting around that same time or inherited it when Leonardo
died on May 2, 1519. (like I said there is conflicting information)
Either way Leonardo had access the painting until his death. She stayed
in France, where she still remains. (Leonardo is Italian though!)
A Time Line of
Mona Lisa
-
1503- Started painting her after being
commissioned by Lisa Giocondo’s Husband. – According to Vasari
-
1506- Stopped after “toiling over her for 4
years.”
-
1506-1519 - Carried it with him everywhere
before giving it to The King of France when he died. (or the king
bought it)
-
1911 – August 21: Stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia
for 2 years but was finally returned after he was caught trying to
sell it.
-
1956 - Someone threw acid on it and then someone
else in the same year threw a rock!
-
1962 -1963: was displayed in New York and
Washington D.C.
-
1974: Exhibited in Tokyo and Moscow
Something to consider
about the Mona Lisa is why she became so popular but also when she did.
Before the advent of the Photograph the only people who could have seen
her would have been people who could see her in person. Since the
painting is so complicated it’s very difficult to make a believable
fake. The painting’s real popularity grew after she was stolen. Before
that she was mostly known by art aficionados and those interested in art
enough to go visit her. It’s very difficult to become popular without
being able to be seen. Especially for a painting!
What others have
to say about the Mona Lisa:
“She
is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire, she has
been dead many times and learned the secrets of the grave.” Walter
Pater - Studies
in the History of the Renaissance (1873)
“The
smile of La Gioconda (another title for Mona Lisa) was for too long,
perhaps, the Sun of Art. The adoration of her is like a decadent
Christianity - peculiarly depressing, utterly demoralizing. One might
say to paraphrase, Arthur Rimbaud, that La Gioconda, the eternal
Gioconda has been a thief of the energies.” André
Salmon, La jeune peinture francaise (1912).
“Her hesitating
smile which held my youth in a little tether has come to seem to me but
a grimace and the pale mountains no more mysterious that a globe or map
seen at a distance, a sort of riddle, an acrostic, a poetical decoction,
a ballade, a rondel, a villanelle or ballade with double burden, a
sestina or chant royal. The Mona Lisa (is) literature in intention
rather than painting” - George
Moore, Wale, (1914)
“Mona Lisa is
the only beauty who went through history and retained her reputation” – Will
Rogers
“How could we
possibly appreciate the Mona Lisa if Leonardo had written at the bottom
of the canvas: 'The lady is smiling because she is hiding a secret from
her lover.' This would shackle the viewer to reality, and I don't want
this to happen to 2001.” -
? “You cannot paint
the "Mona Lisa" by assigning one dab each to a thousand painters.” William
F. Buckley
“Could Hamlet have
been written by a committee, or the Mona Lisa painted by a club? Could
the New Testament have been composed as a conference report? Creative
ideas do not spring from groups. They spring from individuals. The
divine spark leaps from the finger of God to the finger of Adam.” Alfred Whitney Griswold by Livingston and Evans
Recorded January 7, 1958
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men
have named you
You’re so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it
only ‘cause you’re lonely they have blamed you
For that Mona Lisa
strangeness in your smile Do you smile to tempt a
lover, Mona Lisa
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart
Many
dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there, and
they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa
Or just a
cold and lonely, lovely work of art
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Discovering Da Vinci's Daughter
Is the title of a book i've been working on for the past 5 years. I'm writing Version 2.0 Right now and hope to be finally finished soon. You can preview it, what it's about, and what I discovered by clicking HERE.
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Leonardo Ser Perro da Vinci
Italian inventor, painter, and apex Renaissance man: He also considered the greatest Genius who has ever lived, the end. HERE. |
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The Mona Lisa
Is the most famous work of art in existence. Her face is also one of the most recognizable - and is potentially worth a billion dollars. It's both a mystery and a convtroversy over who she really is and how da Vinci painted her. -READ MORE |
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Salai Giacomo
This is a painting of Da Vinci's pupil, assistant, and probable lover Salino Giocomo, or "Salai." Why is the title "Mona Lisa" an anagram for "Mon Salai" ? Why does a painting of Salai combine with the painting of Mona Lisa? READ MORE |
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The Last Supper
There is something really special about Da Vinci's art, especially so in one of the most famous and controversial paintings in the world: "The Last Supper" From the gender of the character to the left of Jesus, to the hand holding a knife? What I found answers these questions but also asks a LOT more READ MORE |
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Shroud of Turin Vs. Vitrivuan Man
The Shroud of Tuin is said to be the single most studied human artifact of all time- with very good reason. It's more like a 3d photograph from possibly thousands of years ago. Some believe it's proof of Jesus's divinity, some think it's a weird scientific anomoly, but no one knows for sure. I think I know who made it.. READ MORE |
"What does it all mean, I don't know yet, but that made me decide to contact you who may really be the best Da Vinci expert in this age if not the reincarnated Da Vinci himself" - Teemu
"..your book really fascinated me a lot (as the topic was very different and new for me)...Well i have started reading your book and i am liking your research...." Deepika Mehta
"I find your work to be outstanding. I too think that you are just dangling on the precipice of a greater discovery." - Mark
"..Pure genius and nothing more.." Pramod K. Uday
"You my friend you're like a Champollion and your book must be the Rosetta stone. I really don't understand why yourwork isn't well known or at least credited properly. The website is so pleasant too, your focus and perspective on Da Vinci is for me like entering that new dimension which was there all along but i couldn't acknowledge without the proper key companion to shed a different light than the common mainstream thinking and analysis. And I just bought your book! I'm so excited, i couldn't wait for the re-visited version, i'm too curious to wait actually!" @FritesMoutarde
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