FIRST GRADE . . . Learning about the Mona Lisa

Portrait by Saahil 

Portrait by Madison

First Graders have started their Lower School journey into the rich and colorful world of art history. As we experiment with different materials and art techniques, we will be inspired by famous paintings and sculptures. We will also learn about the artists who created these masterpieces and the cultures they came from.

As we do every year in art, we begin our discovery into self expression with a portrait of ourselves. First graders learned about the history of one of the most famous works of art, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa". (By the way, I was so impressed by all of my first grade friends who knew the name of this painting. Some even knew that it hangs in a museum in Paris!) We looked at the painting and talked about why it became so well known. Leonardo dedicated his life to studying the human body, learning all about the bones, the muscles, the correct proportions, and how the body looks in motion. His studies in light and shadow also help us to see the form of Mona Lisa's features and give us a better sense of depth.

Besides being a brilliant work of art, this painting may have become so famous because of a much more exciting reason! In the early 1900's the "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the museum. An Italian handyman hired by the Louvre took the painting off the wall and walked right out of the building with it. He wanted to bring her back to Italy, the birthplace of Leonardo. After a two year investigation, the painting was finally discovered and returned to the museum. The Mona Lisa now hangs behind a protective glass panel and is roped off so that visitors can only admire her from a safe distance.

Our first grade self portraits will be based on the pose of the "Mona Lisa" showing our face, shoulders and folded hands. Once all of our portraits are drawn and colored in, we will begin to paint a soft background with watercolors.

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