Visual Arts Focus

A Special Lady

A very special lady has dominated our Art ideas and our imagination this term!

Of course we recognise her as that portrait that Leonardo Da Vinci painted, the lady with the eyes that follow you around and has a mysterious smile… the most famous portrait in the world and on display at Le Louvre in Paris, France.

Who else but, Mona Lisa!

She was actually Lisa del Giocondo born 15 June 1479, an Italian noblewoman and member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany. Her name was given to the Mona Lisa, her portrait commissioned by her husband during the Italian Renaissance.

She has inspired us to develop our painting and drawing skills, using her face to initiate our work. How have we accomplished this?

Foundation Artists 

Our Foundation artists looked at her portrait closely and reproduced four mini versions in different mediums – fine line markers, coloured pencils, coloured markers and oil pastels. They drew many different lines as roads to connect collaged Mona Lisa sisters, used shapes to create a face and even worked with charcoal to do a life drawing of their friend.

Year 1&2 Artists

Our artists created their own Mona Lisa parody adapting their hot and cold paintings into a collage of her portrait, the face and background detailed with markers. Three outlined Mona Lisas were also filled with different patterns.

Year 3&4 Artists

Our artists designed their own parody by collaging, manipulating their complementary coloured paintings. 

Cutting out the shape of Mona Lisa, they pasted it on the background, patterning, detailing and outlining. They cut up portraits of Mona Lisa in straight and curved lines rearranging them in an artistic manner. 

They completed a drawing with patterns where Mona’s face was already included.

Year 5&6 Artists

Our artists developed their personal interpretation of Mona Lisa with a recognisable, yet imaginative resemblance. It was painted, highlighted with soft oil pastels and outlined.

Now, so many Mona Lisas adorn our school! 

We know her face thoroughly. We feel she sees us.

And her smile tells us she loves our artwork!

~ Marjie Tkatchenko, Visual Arts Teacher