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Becoming Mona Lisa- The making of a global icon.
Becoming Mona Lisa The making of a global icon Author:Donald Sassoon Amazon.com Review — What is it with the Mona Lisa? Why has one small Renaissance painting of a woman--whose "mysterious" smile nobody paid much attention to until the 19th century--become the most famous artwork in the world? Donald Sassoon's witty, tidbit-packed social history Becoming Mona Lisa: The Making of a Global Icon investigates the peop... more »le, institutions, and ideas that shaped popular taste. Deftly folding prodigious research into a lively narrative, Sassoon emphasizes the role of marketing--from a haunting description by English essayist Walter Pater to press coverage of the painting's theft from the Louvre (1911), vandalism by a stone-throwing visitor (1956), and headline-grabbing exhibition in the U.S. (1963). Beginning in the 20th century, a range of interpretations by other artists--some of which are included in the book's modest group of color reproductions--join the unstoppable tide of spoofs, travesties, advertising images, and even medical diagnoses of the unsinkable Lisa. --Cathy Curtis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.« less