Modernizing Mona Lisa

This year for art I picked up The Usborne Book of Famous Paintings. I am loving it.

Some lessons are just reviewing the piece of art and discussing it but others will be about putting our own spin on some classic art. Today was the Mona Lisa. Let's take a look at that famous picture...

Is she just beautiful? A bit out of date but I am sure she was a catch in Da Vinci's day. Did you know that Da Vinci used a special technique call sfumato where he blurred the corners of her eyes and mouth? Well he did, and that technique is what makes her smile such a mystery. Depending on the angle at which you view this masterpiece you will notice her smile change.

I was going to have the kids simply draw there own version of the Mona Lisa but then because of Pinterest I had a much better idea. Why not use the classic face and hands of the original but add our own artistic elements? Here are the results!! So much fun.

If you decide to do this for yourself you can download your own Mona Lisa Template here.

This is the original template

And here is what the kids and I came up with.....

Booger's Masterpiece

Beanie's Masterpiece

Peanut's Masterpiece. (Peanut and I both thought she would look better with eyebrows)

I did mine with a bit of a Harry Potter flair.

You don't need the book to do this awesome activity, just discuss the painting and artist with your kids and then let them have fun. A perfect art lesson for any age!!!

Hopefully Da Vinci isn't rolling over in his grave.