Napoli, Donna Jo (2008). The Smile. New York: Dutton Children’s Books.Elisabetta is a young girl of the country nobility living in Florence at the time of the fall of the Medici family. Find out how Florence goes from flourishing art center to a dangerous city with no protection.
Elisabetta is a young girl of the country nobility living in 15th Century Florence. This was a time when the arts flourished and men like da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and many other great artists. Elisabetta’s father was friends with the great Leonardo da Vinci, and because of this Elisabetta was able to meet “the good” Medici brother - Guiliano. Elisabetta’s life changed forever when she met Guiliano who was able to make her smile when he called her Monna Lisa.
With the death of Guiliano’s father and the rise of his brother, Piero, to power, Florence will forever be changed. Florence must choose between allying with Naples or France. Will the wrong choice lead to the end of Florence as Elisabetta knows it? Read this book to find more about a girl who just wants to live and love in the Florence she grew up with and who becomes the girl behind The Smile.
This book has so much information about Florentine history during the late 15th Century. Although it is unclear of the true identity of the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda in Italy). The author consulted many sources about the Mona Lisa in writing the background of her book (see the Postscript) and took her own path to tell the story of the girl behind The Smile. This was an interesting look into what Florence would have been like as an artistic haven and the downfall of the art world.
Learn more about the famous, yet mysterious painting that was the inspiration for The Smile.
Video taken from YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment