The Mona Lisa Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Mona Lisa Biography - Essay Example Leonardo da Vinci started working on the on the portrait in 1503 through1506 but kept the portrait until he passed away in 1519. Since then, the portrait has gone round so many people, and presently resides in the Louvre Museum in Paris (Henry and Dana, 49). Da Vinci, an Italian, was an artist who lived during the renaissance period, and was also involved in mathematics, engineering and music among other disciplines. He painted various other pictures apart from the Mona Lisa. It is alleged that he worked on this painting until the time of his death in 1519. The painting was not acclaimed as a masterpiece immediately; it took about 300 years to be recognized outside Italy, the country of origin. In the painting, da Vinci has applied new and innovative techniques at the same time; among the techniques was sfumato and chiaroscuro. Using these techniques, Mona Lisa’s skin appears as if glowing from the oil layers. The anonymity in the portrait lies in the figure behind it, the background and the smile, that many state as iconic. The portrait was transferred to King Francois I after the death of Leonardo da Vinci. The King was an art lover who had collections in his room in the Palace of Fontainebleau. The room was eventually converted into a gallery. Afterwards the portrait was taken to Palace of Versailles, and later taken by King Napoleon for hanging in his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace. The Kings of France considered the Mona Lisa as a prized possession and the portrait was moved through various royal residences over time. In 1793, the Mona Lisa was taken to the Louvre in Paris, as part of the royal art collection. The painting has since had a lot of interesting escapades that have left me fascinated. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by three men, Vincenzo Perugia and two others. The men gracefully removed the glass casing that was protecting the painting and tucked the painting in a blanket before leaving the

Heroes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heroes - Essay Example Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela are some of the world’s best heroes because they changed the world around them in a significant way. A hero can be defined as a person who contributes significantly and positively towards social, political, or economic discourse in a society. Heroes are identified by a strong sense of discipline in all aspects of life as well as a strong stand to their beliefs. One overarching characteristic of a hero is the ability to sacrifice personal comfort, interests, and even life for the sake of the community. Most of the world’s recognized heroes have indeed gone through a lot of painful experiences, jail terms, and even tortured as they sought to fight for the community. For instance, Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years as he fought against apartheid in South Africa. Martin Luther is globally recognized for his fight for civil rights for African Americans in U.S. However, Luther chose to use nonviolent means to achieve his objectives of securing equal rights for all people in America. Luther was at the forefront leading protests against workers mistreatment at Memphis Sanitation. The blacks working for Memphis sanitation were poorly paid and their merge salaries delayed and at times not even paid. Luther was able to organize a non violent protest lasting more than two months (â€Å"Martin Luther King,† 2014). On a different light, Luther led a successful non-violent protest against Montgomery bus company for segregating against blacks from sitting in front seats. However, Luther’s epitome moments are perhaps tied to his maiden speech dubbed â€Å"I Have a Dream.† (â€Å"BBC†, 2015). With over 200, 000 followers, Luther unleashed this maiden speech pushing the congress to pass the laws regarding civil rights for the bl acks in America. The swearing in of Barrack Obama as the first Black president in America indeed marked a significant milestone for Martin Luther as a hero in U.S and the rest of the world. However, on the