Can you just imagine a priceless pieceof artwork that is beyond insurance? Mona Lisa unlike most people would think
is not actually an imaginary title of a piece of art work. Rather, this
painting (1503-7), executed by the greatest artist and creative mind so far
modern history has known, arguably, – the Italian Renaissance master, Leonardo
da Vinci, and measuring 77cmx53cm, is the portrait of the wife of a local
Italian peasant.
Today this painting also arguably, is
the most important singular piece of artwork that is available, both in terms
of value, as well as popularity, and bearing in mind that it is after all not a
very large scale job per se. The Mona
Lisa is the most famous painting in the history of art and continues to inspire
oil painting reproductions, parody, scientific theory, and more. According
to the Guinness Book of world Records, Mona Lisa was assessed for insurance
purposes at $100 million in 1962, but insurance was not concluded because the
cost of the strictest security precautions was less that of the premium.
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| 'Mona Lisa' by Leonardo da Vinci |
Mona Lisa which is housed in the
popular (Gallery) Louvre in Paris, France, is a jealously and heavily guarded
and secured piece of art. It is protected in a climate controlled environment
and encased in bullet proof glass, a room which caused seven million dollars to
build at the time. This painting which is considered priceless and cannot
be insured has since become a proud property of the French people and
government, and has therefore survived more than 500 years today.
Mona Lisa has been an object of great
inspiration for many a creative mind all over the world: notable among the many
is the sonorous African American voice of decades ago – the great Nath King
Cole of blessed memory. As you fall in love with the melodious music extolling
the virtues and beauty of Mona Lisa, you equally fall for the unmistakable and
arresting beauty of the lady in the picture.
