1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Guess what will? What's that? Mango? So I'm 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: trying to write a poem for the Mona Lisa and 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: I need little help. Rhyme Zone says there's no perfect 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: rhyme for Mona Lisa. So what do you think rhyme's best? 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Like amnesia anesthesia or moesha? Wait, Mango? First of all, 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,840 Speaker 1: why are you writing Mona Lisa poem? Because even though 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: there are over a million pieces of art in the Louver, 9 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa is the only one who actually receives 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: her own mail, and people have been writing to the 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa since the nineteenth century. She even has her 12 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: own mailbox because the painting is so enchanting. So I'm curious, So, like, 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: what what do people actually write? Some of the letters 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: express how moved people are by the artwork, and some 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: ask the smirking Beauty for advice, and some of the 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: letters actually include marriage proposals. 17 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: It is pretty incredible. I love that people have a 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 2: parasocial relationship with a piece of art. I think it's 19 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 2: the first time I've heard about this. 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it used to be. For years you actually 21 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: have to make a trip to the Louver to pass 22 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: along your fan mail tour. But these days you can 23 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: actually post a letter to the museid Louver service de 24 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: public attention dey Mona Lisa, which I've obviously said in 25 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: a perfect franch accent. You nailed it, Mango, So I figure, 26 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: why not add to the file. 27 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: Well, in that case, maybe try rhyming Mona Lisa with 28 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 2: milk of Magnesia, Mango. 29 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: That's where you would have an answer for me. So 30 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: why don't we put the poetry aside for a moment 31 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: and dive into today's episode, which is all about the 32 00:01:41,800 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa. 33 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 2: Hey, their podcast listeners, I'm Will Pearson and as always 34 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 2: I'm here with my good friend Mango and sitting behind 35 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 2: that big booth that's our powd Dylan. Now, Mango, I 36 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 2: know I got here a little bit before you did, 37 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 2: but Dylan was already here. I think he had clocked 38 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 2: in a good half hour before I even sat down, 39 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 2: and he's been holding that weird smile Mona Lisa's style for. 40 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: The last hour. Now. It's really impressive. Yeah, it's weird, 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: but it's also really captivating. It's also crazy that he 42 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: shaved his eyebrows. I mean, it's just spot on to 43 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa. But that's just the links to Dylan 44 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: goes to for these bits. It's truly impressive. Anyway, mego, 45 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: let's dive in here. So what is it about the 46 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa that is so captivating? Like? 47 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 2: Why do people stand in lines to get into the 48 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: louver just so they can stand in this huge crowd 49 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 2: and try to see this painting? Is it just her 50 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: smile or like what is it? 51 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,839 Speaker 1: Yeah? So obviously it's not just the smile. First of all, 52 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: it's a super good painting, which I believe is a 53 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: direct quote from our forum. 54 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, I think, I think I remember seeing 55 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 2: that quote. But what makes the painting so unique? Well, 56 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: to start with, most sixteenth. 57 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: Century portraits of nobility showed off their social status and 58 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: their wealth with a lot of like flamboyant clothing. So 59 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: the painting's also played up hair styles and accessories. But 60 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: you know, if you've seen the Mona Lisa, which is 61 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: believed to be this Italian noble Lisa del Giacondo, it's 62 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: unique because she's dressed really simply, all of which draws 63 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: most of the attention straight to her face and that 64 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: weird smile. Yeah, but there's also other stuff, right, So, 65 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: typical Italian portraiture used full figure poses, but Mona Lisa 66 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: is painted in this revolutionary three fourths length pose. Also, 67 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: she's not stoic or demure, which would be typical of 68 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: a female portrait. She's she's turning slightly toward the viewer 69 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: and she meets our eyes directly like a man typically would, 70 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: or a man at the time. And mod Lisa also 71 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: showcases some very vinci techniques. What would those be? Yeah? 72 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: What is this technique called sfumtu, which means vanished or evaporated. Basically, 73 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: Leonardo would create these imperceptible transitions between light and dark 74 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: by shading the colors really gradually so that the background 75 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: fades into the distance. It's almost like adding a blur filter. 76 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: And it's another deviation from traditional Italian portraiture of the time, 77 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: which would paint the backgrounds in this same sharp focus 78 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: as the central figure. Actually, is this fuma to also 79 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: a drink. Yeah, it's in a marrow, which makes sense 80 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: because if you drink enough smatu, things are going to 81 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: get faded into the background. 82 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I just want to say it's Fu Matu over 83 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 2: and over. But this is all cool. But I do 84 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 2: think we should get back to the Mona Lisa's weird smile. 85 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 2: I know I keep bringing it up, but I feel 86 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 2: like we have to talk about it. 87 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the smile that launched a mediocre two thousand 88 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: and three movie emego. It's sixty percent on Rotten Tomato, 89 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 1: so I would say, I don't sleep on it. So 90 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: I was up. 91 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 2: I just, you know, I like to know what it 92 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 2: gets on rotten tomatoes. But I also looked into Mona 93 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 2: Lisa's smile and it's amazing. Like the preoccupation with the 94 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 2: painting smile dates back to the Renaissance writer and historian 95 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 2: Giorgio Vasari, and he actually said, in this work of Leonardo, 96 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 2: there was a smile so pleasing that it was a 97 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 2: thing more divine than human to behold, and it was 98 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 2: held to be something marvelous in that it was alive. 99 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: Which sounds spooky. Sounds spooky. 100 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 2: But he also wasn't the only one that was so 101 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: captivated here. So the treacherous attraction of Moasa's smile is 102 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 2: said to have consumed French artist Luke Maspero too. According 103 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 2: to popular myth, Maspero allegedly ended his life over it. 104 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 2: We actually leapt from the I know it's crazy, actually 105 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 2: leapt from the fourth story window of his Paris hotel room, 106 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 2: and in the note he left behind, he wrote, for years, 107 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 2: I have grappled desperately her smile. I prefer to die. 108 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: That's so dramatic, you know, you know, why would a 109 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: smile and a painting drive someone so crazy? It it 110 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: feels ludicrous. 111 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 2: Well, you know what, there's actually some science here, like, 112 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 2: there are explanations for it. Some people who look at 113 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 2: the painting think she's not smiling at all, and that's 114 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 2: because the human eye uses two types of vision. There's 115 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 2: fobial and there's peripheral. Now, fobial or direct vision is 116 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 2: excellent at picking up detail, but is less suited to 117 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 2: picking up things like shadows, and so, according to Margaret Livingstone, 118 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 2: a professor at Harvard Quote, the elusive quality of the 119 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 2: Mona Lisa smile can be explained by the fact that 120 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 2: her smile is almost entirely in low spatial frequencies and 121 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 2: so is seen best by your peripheral vision. It's almost 122 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 2: like an optical illusion, like the more a person stares 123 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 2: straight ahead, the less their peripheral vision actually works. 124 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: Oh that's really cool. So I'm at the I'm staring 125 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: at the Mona Lisa because I want to take it 126 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: all in and get my money's worth. But the harder 127 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 1: I stare, the harder it is for my vision to 128 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: register that smile. That's exactly right. 129 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 2: And it's only when you start looking at other parts 130 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 2: of the painting, like the background or hands or the chair, 131 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 2: that's when your eyes really pick up on the smile, 132 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 2: which could sort of strike you as alive, right because 133 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,119 Speaker 2: it's not there, and it suddenly appears like Mona Lisa 134 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 2: is finally deigned to smile at you, the sweaty jet 135 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 2: lag tourists who's come all the way to friends to 136 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 2: see her. 137 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: I mean, that's the theory, Mango. You know what's funny 138 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: is that I'm really glad you mentioned the chair. Wait, chair, 139 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: What did I say about the chair? I don't think 140 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: I said anything about the chair, did I Just that 141 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: it exists? It trikes out chair. The chair is one 142 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: of the most interesting parts of the Mona Lisa, and 143 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: one that art historians actually focus on specifically, it's a 144 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: Pozetto chair, which means little well, which some historians believe 145 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: is a reference to the amphibious nature of Mona Lisa. 146 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: She's surrounded by water, She's wearing this green dress, and 147 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: if you know she's sitting on a little well, you 148 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: can imagine the rivers behind her are flowing into her. 149 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: Mm hmm. It's obviously a rich and surprising and ingeniously 150 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: conceived work of art. But here's what I've always been 151 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: stuck on with the Mona Lisa. Like the Renaissance had 152 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: I don't know if you know this, but a lot 153 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: of really super good paintings Mago, which also sounds like 154 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: a quote from Art Forum. 155 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 2: Straight from it. But seriously, I've always wondered what made 156 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 2: the Mona Lisa stick out amongst all this amazing art, 157 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 2: And through our research, I finally found the answer, Mango. 158 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 2: It's the vibes. Vibes, yeah, yeah, well, the vibes and 159 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 2: incredible marketing, like the Mona Lisa is like the Jeremy 160 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 2: Allen White of Renaissance paintings. 161 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:46,600 Speaker 1: I don't even know what that means. 162 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 2: All right, well, hear me out on this. So even 163 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 2: before it was in the loop, the Mona Lisa started 164 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 2: out hot like it had this great pedigree. It was 165 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 2: in the royal collection of the literal King of France, 166 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 2: Francis I, and who's court Leonardo spent the last years 167 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 2: of his life. The painting was there for centuries until 168 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 2: the French Revolution claimed the royal collection as the property 169 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: of the people. Then Napoleon took it and placed it 170 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 2: in his bedroom because he loved it that much, and 171 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 2: then finally it landed in the Louver. Sure, so there's 172 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 2: like a lot of history there of being owned by 173 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 2: important people. But it was also the heat around Leonardo 174 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 2: da Vinci that helped grow interest in the Mona Lisa, 175 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 2: because something happened in the nineteenth century where Leonardo became 176 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 2: more popular, you know, see, not only as a very 177 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 2: good painter, but also as a great scientist and inventor 178 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,839 Speaker 2: of course, and many of his so called inventions were 179 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 2: later debunked, and his contributions to science and architecture came 180 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 2: to be seen as you know, less than they might 181 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 2: have been at first. But this idea of Leonardo as 182 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 2: a genius has continued well into the twenty first century, 183 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,319 Speaker 2: and that of course has contributed to the Mona Lisa's popularity. 184 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 2: But then there was Marcel Duchamp's contribution to the painting. 185 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,559 Speaker 1: So you're talking about Deuchamp. The data is too, you know, 186 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: made all that fun crazy art, like signed that urinal 187 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: and entered it into an art exhibition. 188 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,719 Speaker 2: Back guy, Yeah, very same guy. So Duchamp took a 189 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 2: postcard reproduction of the Mona Lisa. This was back in 190 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 2: nineteen nineteen. He drew a beard and mustache on it. 191 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 2: It was like this playful depiction. It was meant to 192 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 2: be in irreverent commentary about the worship of art. But 193 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 2: he also wrote lhoo q across the bottom of the postcard. 194 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,719 Speaker 1: Which sounds like, look right, is that us? What was 195 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: I mean? Exactly? Well, it's a vulgar phrase for I 196 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: guess you could say she's hot, But the polite translation 197 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: is there is fire down below, got it? You've never 198 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: written that on anything anyway. 199 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 2: The depiction of the Mona Lisa became a huge thing 200 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 2: to deface of this revered work of art as commentary, 201 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 2: and before a long other artists followed suit and distorted disfigure. 202 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 2: They played with rep reductions of the Mona Lisa, including 203 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 2: Andy Warhol. Actually, over decades, as technology improved, the painting 204 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 2: was endlessly reproduced, sometimes manipulated, sometimes not, and so her 205 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 2: face became one of the most well known in the world, 206 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 2: even to people who don't really care about art. 207 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: Right, so, I may have never been to the Loof 208 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,719 Speaker 1: or never even heard of Leo da Vinci, But by 209 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, even if I hate art, it's hard 210 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: to avoid the Mona Lisa's presence. That's exactly right. In fact, 211 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,120 Speaker 1: in the nineteen sixties and seventies, the Mona Lisa was 212 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: so famous she went on tour. She traveled to the 213 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: US and a first class cabin on an ocean liner 214 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: threw about forty thousand people a day to the Metropolitan 215 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: Museum in New York City and then in the National 216 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. And then after that 217 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: she went on to Japan. And of course the popularity 218 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,079 Speaker 1: was only increased by that heist too, Right, wait, there 219 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: was a heist. It is really really fun, But why 220 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: don't we take a quick break before we get to that. 221 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're discussing the 222 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 2: Mona Lisa and Mango. 223 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: You were just telling us about an art theft involving 224 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: da Vinci's most famous painting. Is that right? That's right. 225 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: So in nineteen eleven, the Mona Lisa had made it 226 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: to the Louver, a huge museum in Paris, literally huge like. 227 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: At the time, the Louver was the largest building in 228 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: the world, with more than a thousand rooms spread out 229 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: over forty five acres. 230 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 2: Can you believe, Oh my gosh, that's ridiculous. So what 231 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 2: is the heating bill on a place like that? Can 232 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 2: you imagine? 233 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: Nothing? Because it's France, so it's just cold, right, A 234 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: good point, that's fair. Anyways, it was a quiet Monday 235 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: morning in Paris on the twenty first of August nineteen eleven, 236 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: and three men were hurrying out of the Louver, which 237 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: is odd so that the museum was closed to visitors 238 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: on Mondays. The men were Vincenzo Perusia and the brothers, 239 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: Vincenzo and Michelle Lancelotti. They're these young Italian handymen. They 240 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: had come to the Louver on Sunday afternoon, hidden overnight 241 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,319 Speaker 1: in a storeroom near the Salon care A gallery of 242 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: Renaissance paintings, and then in the morning, wearing white workmen's smocks, 243 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: they went into the salon and seized a small painting 244 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,079 Speaker 1: off the wall. They ripped off the glass, shadow box 245 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: and frame, and then they went to a stairwell and 246 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 1: Perusia hid the painting under his clothes, and then they 247 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,079 Speaker 1: slipped out of the gallery down a back stairwell, threw 248 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: a side entrance and onto the streets of Paris. And 249 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: so they stole the Mona Lisa. Yeah, they stole the 250 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa. It took twenty six hours before the louver 251 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: staff even noticed that it was missing. You have to 252 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: remember how big the louver is, right, and in nineteen 253 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: eleven there were fewer than one hundred and fifty guards 254 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,199 Speaker 1: looking out for all of that art. 255 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 2: I'm curious, so, like, how did they plan it and 256 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 2: why did they steal it? Like, give me the Ocean's 257 00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 2: ta plot here. 258 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: Mango before in nineteen ten, a letter was mailed to 259 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: the Louver from Vienna which threatened the Mona Lisa. So 260 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: museum officials hired a firm named Kobie to put a 261 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: dozen of its most prized paintings under glass, and the 262 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: work took three months, and one of the men assigned 263 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: to the project was Vincenzo Perusia who was one of 264 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: the thieves, and Prusia was this Italian worker on a 265 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: French construction crew, so they teased him a lot. Prusia 266 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: later testified in court that they quote almost always called 267 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: me Manja Macaroni or Macaroni eater, and very often they 268 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: stole my personal property and salted my wine. So he 269 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: was getting at this French crew. Yeah, and you took 270 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: it personally. And some accounts say Prusa was motivated by 271 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: national pride and he wanted to repatriate Mona Lisa to Italy. Anyway, 272 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: there there was this media explosion when the Louver announced 273 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: the theft. Newspaper headlines were all over the place, you know, 274 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: wanted posters for the painting were hung on Parisian walls, 275 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: and crowds masked at police headquarters. And when the Louver 276 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: actually reopened after a week, thousands of spectators, including Franz Kafka, 277 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: flooded into the salon to stare at the empty wall 278 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 1: where the Mona Lisa had once been. An empty people 279 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: are so weird, like why would people line up to 280 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: stare at a blank wall? I mean the grief was remarkable, right, 281 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: like the national outpouring. According to historians, mimicked the shock 282 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: of Princess Diana's death and where was the actual painting 283 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: being kept during all of this? So Prussia had squirreled 284 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa away in this false bottom of the 285 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: wooden trunk in his room at a boardinghouse. And when 286 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: the Parisian police interrogated him as part of all their interviews, 287 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: because they basically interviewed everyone who was working at the 288 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: louver at the time, he said he only learned about 289 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: the theft from the newspapers and that the reason he 290 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: was late to work that Monday in August was that 291 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: he had drunk too much the night before and overslept. 292 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: But Prusia ultimately wanted money for this world famous painting, 293 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: so he twenty eight months and then in December nineteen thirteen, 294 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: he left that boarding house with the trunk and he 295 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: took a train to Florence, where he tried to offload 296 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: the painting to an art dealer, who promptly called the police. 297 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: He then had a brief trial in Florence, pleaded guilty, 298 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: and ended up serving just eight months in prison. I mean, 299 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: I guess it's a fairly happy ending of the story, then, yeah, 300 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: and the painting actually went on tour in Italy briefly 301 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: before it got sent back to France. But the theft 302 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: made the Mona Lisa a global icon. In the first 303 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: two days after it was rehung in the Louvers Salon, 304 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: more than one hundred thousand people viewed it, and today 305 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: eight million people see the Mona Lisa every single year. 306 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 2: Wow, it does feel like Prusia should have gotten like 307 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 2: this pr fee or something like that for boosting the 308 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 2: Mona Lisa's profile. 309 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, but weirdly, you know, there are actually some conspiracy theories. 310 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: So some said that theft was the French government's way 311 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: of trying to distract the public opinion from uprisings in 312 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: colonial West Africa. A few months before the was found, 313 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: the New York Times speculated that the Louver Restores had 314 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: botched a restoration job and that the museum was just 315 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: like concocting this story to cover that up. There was 316 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: also a rumor that a gang of international art thieves 317 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: had poached the painting and substituted a fake that was 318 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: in Perusia's possession when he was caught, which is all 319 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: kind of incredible. Whoa really. Yeah, And apparently this Argentinian 320 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: also confessed to masterminding the crime. He did this to 321 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: American reporter named Carl Decker. He basically said he paid 322 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: Perusia and the other two men to steal the painting 323 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 1: because the glass box that protected it weighed two hundred pounds, 324 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: so you needed a few men on the job. And 325 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: then he said he had six forgeries made and sold 326 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: to private collectors. So for a while there was some 327 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: question of whether the Mona Lisa and the Louver was 328 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,720 Speaker 1: the real deal. And then the other conspiracy theory around 329 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: the theft was this whole you know Picasso thing. Wait 330 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:56,639 Speaker 1: what Picasso thing? Yeah, it's kind of incredible. So during 331 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: that eighteen month period where the French police were not 332 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: arrested the dudes who actually stole the Mona Lisa, they 333 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:07,200 Speaker 1: arrested Pablo Picasso and the poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire. 334 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: It started when this guy, Joseph Gary Pierre went to 335 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,360 Speaker 1: the Paris Journal and told them that for the past 336 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 1: several years he'd been stealing and then selling minor artwork 337 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: from the Louver, and to prove it, Pire produced a 338 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: small statue that the Louver curators confirmed with museums, and 339 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: the police eventually connected Piree to Apollinaire, who was a 340 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,639 Speaker 1: member of Picasso's modernist entourage. They were called labond de Picasso, 341 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 1: and there were this like group of artistic firebrands known 342 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: around town as the wild Men of Paris. And it 343 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: wasn't really that big a stretch for the police to 344 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 1: assume this ring of art thieves were sophisticated enough to 345 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: swipe the Mona Lisa. Of course, neither Apollinaire nor Picasso 346 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: had played any part in that painting's disappearance. 347 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,919 Speaker 2: All right, So Picasso and his buddies didn't steal the 348 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 2: Mona Lisa. They were they were innocent. 349 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, the funny thing is they weren't exactly innocent. 350 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,439 Speaker 1: Pierre was telling the truth that Picasso had bought stolen 351 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: statues from him and kept them buried in this cupboard 352 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: in his Paris apartment. And you know, later the artist 353 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 1: pretended ignorance, like he didn't know they were stolen. But 354 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: at the bottom of every statue it was stamped in 355 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: bold property of de Louver. That's not a good look. Yeah, 356 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 1: And it got weirder because when pire got put on trial, 357 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: it kind of ended up being like this massive farce. 358 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: Picasso and his friends confessed to putting their stolen statues 359 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: in this old suitcase and almost throwing the bag into 360 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: the sind before realizing they couldn't destroy this incredible art. 361 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:43,960 Speaker 1: So upon Air confesses to everything on the stand, but 362 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: he also throws in a lot of lies, and Picasso, 363 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: who normally liked to project, you know, a supermasho image, 364 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: he breaks down and weeps and also says a lot 365 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,719 Speaker 1: of nonsense, and it all confuses the judge and he 366 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: gets baffled by the whole thing and then ultimately just 367 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: dismisses the men with a warning. But because's involvement obviously 368 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: only brought the Mona Lisa more press, that is so funny, 369 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: all right, Well, let's take a moment to talk about 370 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: who the Mona Lisa actually is. Like, who is this 371 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,439 Speaker 1: woman whose portrait has been reproduced a ridiculous amount of 372 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: times for five hundred plus years. Yeah, it's funny because 373 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 1: I feel like there used to be a real mystery 374 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: about who the Mona Lisa was. 375 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 2: That's right, But back in two thousand and eight, a 376 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 2: German university found conclusive evidence that it's Lisa Gerdini del 377 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 2: Jacondo dated notes from October fifteen oh three, scribbled in 378 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 2: the margins of a book at Heidelberg University's library. They 379 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 2: confirmed that Lisa del Jacondo was indeed the model and 380 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 2: her husband was most likely the man who commissioned the portrait. 381 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 2: The comments comparati Leonardo to the ancient Greek artist at 382 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,719 Speaker 2: Pelis and said he was working on three paintings at 383 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 2: the time, one of them a portrait of Lisa del Jacondo, 384 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 2: which sounds pretty conclusive. Yeah, I will say at c 385 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 2: Like for almost any given fact or assertion about the 386 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 2: Mona Lisa, there is someone, often with the fancy Tyler 387 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 2: degree who disputes it, of course, like anything. But probably 388 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 2: the only thing everyone can agree on is that it's rectangular. 389 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 2: But let's go with the Lisa del Jacondo theory for 390 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 2: just a minute. Like, there's been this long standing theory 391 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 2: that Lisa was or had recently been pregnant when she's 392 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 2: set for this portrait, and in two thousand and four, 393 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 2: a series of three D scans essentially confirmed this. The 394 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 2: scans showed this fine gauzy veil around Mona Lisa's shoulders, 395 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 2: this garment that women of the Italian and Renaissance were 396 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 2: when they were expecting it's called a guamelo. 397 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: Well, couldn't we just see the veil by looking at 398 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:45,640 Speaker 1: the painting? Like, why do we need three D scans 399 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 1: of all of us? Actually the scans have been able 400 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: to tell us a whole lot. Like for a while, 401 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: there was this big question over whether the Mona Lisa 402 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: didn't have eyelashes or eyebrows, and there was a debate 403 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,399 Speaker 1: over whether it was just the fashion at the time 404 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: or whether maybe leonah Ardo never actually finished the painting. 405 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 1: But an engineer named Pascal Cote used the scans to 406 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: reveal traces of the Mona Lisa's left brow and basically 407 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 1: that the lashes have been obliterated both by time and 408 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: this long ago restoration. Also, the scans showed that da 409 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: Vinci changed his mind about two fingers on Lisa's left 410 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: hand and how they were going to be placed in 411 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: the painting, and that her face was originally a little 412 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,440 Speaker 1: bit wider and the smile more prominent. So it's really 413 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: actually a lot that they can tell from these scans. 414 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: That's incredible. I had no idea you could like sort 415 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 1: of see beneath the painting. Call those layers. That's amazing. 416 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really really cool. But you know your question 417 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 2: about the veil. As the Mona Lisa aged, her veil 418 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 2: darkened and it made it harder to see. But with 419 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,199 Speaker 2: the confirmation of the veil, historians were able to confirm 420 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 2: that Francesco del ja Condo asked for the painting of 421 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 2: his wife to celebrate the birth of his second. 422 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: Son, which confirms that Mona Lisa is his wife, Lisa 423 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: del Giaconda. 424 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 2: That's right, actually his third wife to be exact. So 425 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 2: in fourteen ninety five, at the age of fifteen, Lisa 426 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 2: Garadini married prosperous silk and cloth merchant Francisco di Bartolomeo 427 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 2: Diza Nobi del Jacondo. It's a mouthful there, but that's 428 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 2: a pretty awesome name. Lisa and Francesco ended up having 429 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:24,399 Speaker 2: five children, Piero, Camilla, Andrea Jacondo and Marietta. So that's 430 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 2: the Lisa in the Mona Lisa allegedly. Don't tell me 431 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 2: you're getting into conspiracy talk, care mango, Well, I want. 432 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: To end this episode on a crazy note. So did 433 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 1: you know that some people believe there are two Mona Lisas. Oh, Basically, 434 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: there's this painting that looks a lot like the Mona Lisa. 435 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,719 Speaker 1: It's a painting of a younger woman, kind of like 436 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: a fresher, younger Mona Lisa, with dark hair and an 437 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 1: enigmatic smile that sits at a slight angle in front 438 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 1: of a panoramic landscape, which obviously sounds familiar. It's called 439 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: the Aleworth Mona Lisa, and long story short, it got 440 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 1: passed around different art collectors over the centuries, including American 441 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: collector Henry F. Pulitzer. Pulitzer published a book arguing that 442 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,160 Speaker 1: the Aleworth picture was in fact Leonardo's only real portrait 443 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: of Mona Lisa. The way did Leonardo actually paint this one? 444 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: I mean, some people think so, namely the Mona Lisa Foundation, 445 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: who have a vested interest in, you know, furthering this theory, 446 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 1: but most art scholars don't believe. So it's painted on canvas, 447 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: and Leonardo usually painted on wood, and they basically say 448 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,120 Speaker 1: that it's just not good enough to be by Leonardo 449 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: da Vinci. It's just like a bad copy of the 450 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa. But speaking of bad copy, what do you 451 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 1: say we get into the fact of wow? I like 452 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: what you did there, manga, Let's do it all right. 453 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,960 Speaker 2: So, one of the strangest things about the Mona Lisa 454 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 2: is that it's been attacked. A bunch in nineteen fifty 455 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 2: six threw a rock at it, which chipped the subject's 456 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 2: left elbow. Over the years, people have thrown acid on it, 457 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,720 Speaker 2: They've tried to face it with spray paint, They've thrown 458 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 2: a mug at it, and weirdest of all, it had 459 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,479 Speaker 2: a cake thrown in its face as recently as twenty 460 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 2: twenty two. 461 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: That is so weird and disheartening, you know. According to 462 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,680 Speaker 1: a book by Diane Hales, over the years, the Mona 463 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: Lisa has launched a number of fashion trends, and this 464 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,360 Speaker 1: is what she writes. Quote Society women adopted the Mona 465 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: Lisa's look by dusting yellow powder on their faces and 466 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 1: necks to suggest her golden complexion, and immobilizing their facial 467 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 1: muscles to mimic her smile, which sounds like an early 468 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: imitation of botox. Also quote. In Parisian cabarets, dancers dressed 469 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: as Laja Conde, the French name for Mona Lisa, and 470 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: performed a saucy can can all right, that's pretty good. 471 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 2: All right, Well, did you know, in trying to figure 472 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 2: out who the Mona Lisa was, scientists have actually dug 473 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 2: up bones beneath a convent in Florence. Apparently one of 474 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,640 Speaker 2: Lisa's daughters became a nun and in her old age 475 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 2: she moved into the convent with her daughter. So scientists 476 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 2: went digging beneath this chapel. They found bones that do 477 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 2: match up timeline wise with Lisa's death, but they were 478 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 2: hoping to use digital imaging on the skeleton to compare 479 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 2: it to the painting. But apparently there was no skull 480 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 2: found with the bones, and that means her face couldn't 481 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 2: actually be digitally reconstructed. 482 00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 1: So here's a fun one. To keep his subject smiling 483 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,120 Speaker 1: or half smiling, Da Vinci had a whole bag of tricks. 484 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 1: He apparently employed six musicians to perform for her, had 485 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,959 Speaker 1: people reading stories out loud to her, and also had 486 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: a fluffy white cat and a greyhound dog for her 487 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: to play with on set. All right, will people often 488 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 1: speculate how much the Mona Lisa is worse. Back in 489 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:52,840 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, when the painting went on tour, the 490 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: price was placed at about one hundred million dollars, which 491 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,399 Speaker 1: is around eight hundred and thirty four million dollars in 492 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: today's currency, but others estimated it's actually worth more. One 493 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: Entre Dour placed it in the billions of dollars because 494 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: of its value to France and the amount of tourism 495 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 1: the painting generates. Of course, all of that is actually 496 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: mood because it's illegal to buy or sell the Mona 497 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 1: Lisa in France. I love that they made it illegal 498 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,200 Speaker 1: to buy its. Yeah, don't try it. So one of 499 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,120 Speaker 1: the things I wanted to understand was why the Mona 500 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:27,160 Speaker 1: Lisa ended up in France. And apparently Leonardo had started 501 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:31,680 Speaker 1: painting Lisa in Italy, but when his patron, the Medici, 502 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: the brother of Pope Leo the ten, died, he wasn't 503 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: getting commissions in Italy. So you know, the French were 504 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: very welcoming. They praised his genius, so he moves there. 505 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: But some of the first damage to the Mona Lisa 506 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: actually happened early on. It happened when King Francis the 507 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: First owned the painting. He hung it in his bathing 508 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: suite where the steam actually dulled the color, and when 509 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: a restorer tried to preserve the color by putting the 510 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: lacquer on it, he permanently dulled it. All right, Well 511 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: here's one to close it out, mango. Did you know 512 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,119 Speaker 1: that there is a scientist who claims to have figured 513 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: out what the Mona Lisa actually sounded like. This was 514 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 1: part of a promotion for the Japanese version of The 515 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,480 Speaker 1: da Vinci Code. Montsumi Suzuki used the measurement from the 516 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: painting's face and hands to figure out how big her 517 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 1: skull would have been, also to determine her height about 518 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: five foot six inches. Then they used data simulation to 519 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: recreate the vocal cords to figure out her pitch and 520 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: apparently the voice is somewhat deep. Now, we also figured 521 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: out what Leonardo da Vinci's voice sounded like, and apparently 522 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: it was super nasal. I love that. Yeah, I do 523 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 1: wonder if knowing that da Vinci was nasal helps, you know, 524 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: help sell tickets for the movie. But whatever the case, 525 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: the fact is so good it makes me want to 526 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: give you this week's trophy. And also I'm thinking we 527 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,720 Speaker 1: should stop the fact off just to get Dylan some 528 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 1: rogaine for his eyebrows, because totally went above and beyond. 529 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 2: I mean, he just tries so hard that Dylan. All right, Well, 530 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 2: that's it for this week's Part Time Genius. 531 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 1: To remember. 532 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 2: If you want to tell us anything about the show, 533 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 2: If you want to ask us questions, send in your 534 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 2: own poems about the Mona Lisa, just email our mothers 535 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 2: at PT genius Moms at gmail dot com. That's the letter, 536 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 2: p the letter T Genius Moms at gmail dot com. 537 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 2: They'll make sure we get the message. 538 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: Meng. 539 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 2: I don't know if you knew we created this email address, 540 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 2: but it's it's pretty amazing, so send us notes here. 541 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 2: That's right, Thank you so much for listening. 542 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. 543 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: This show is hosted by Will Pearson and me Mongaechatikler 544 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: and research by our goodpal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode 545 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan, with 546 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: a from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for 547 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: iHeart by Katrina Norvel and Ali Perry, with social media 548 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: support from Sasha Gay, Trustee Dara Potts and Viny Shorey. 549 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 550 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.