The Lady Speaks: Uncovering the Secrets of the Mona Lisa

by W.N. Varvel

Overview

This thoroughly original work of art history presents a provocative theory about Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa, and Theological Gender Equality.
 
The famous Mona Lisa smile has mystified viewers and intrigued historians for centuries. Completed in 1515, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterwork has hidden the lady’s secret well. Now, after years of research and analysis, W. N. Varvel has decoded the hidden meanings of Mona Lisa. In The Lady Speaks, Varnel reveals the vital message her smile conveys: a secret too dangerous for the artist to acknowledge during his life but one which he hoped future generations would understand and embrace.
 
The coming of the “New Jerusalem” depends on the world’s recognizing what lies behind the Mona Lisa smile. Detailing how the artist wove a calculated fabric of clues, symbols, and images, Varvel establishes not only da Vinci’s, but also Michelangelo’s, belief in Theological Gender Equality. In a thrilling achievement of art history detective work, Varvel tracks clues, links previously unnoticed connections, recreates scenarios, identifies villains and heroes, and presents a persuasive case for what the lady must be thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612541532
Publisher:	Brown Books Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/21/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	548,985
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

W. N. Varvel has been on a journey of academic research and self-discovery for the past twelve years, leading to the unexpected discovery and decoding of the interpretation of the Mona Lisa. He researches and writes about the Italian High Renaissance in Canada and the United States. During graduate study at the University of Michigan and Michigan State, he established the collaboration between Leonardo’s The Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo’s The Battle of Cascina. Currently he is preparing The Little Book, a follow-up to The Lady Speaks. A graduate of Texas A&M with degrees in chemical and petroleum engineering, he held positions at Chevron Texaco and founded A-Plus Tutoring in College Station, Texas. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Janice, and son, Daniel.

Table of Contents

Author s Note xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction xxi

Part I Artists and Visionaries

Chapter 1 Marching Toward the "New Jerusalem" 1

Chapter 2 Two "Last" Suppers 13

Chapter 3 Leonardo's Little Princess from Ferrara 29

Part II The Secret Message

Chapter 4 The Promise: The Manchester Madonna 47

Chapter 5 The Promise Fulfilled: Pietà of St. Peter's 55

Chapter 6 The Promise Forgotten: The Entombment 61

Chapter 7 The "Hindered": St. Matthew 67

Part III The Sistine Speaks

Chapter 8 Martyred Between the Altar and the Temple: The Prophet Zechariah 73

Chapter 9 The Foundation Stone: The Flood 77

Chapter 10 The Five Sibyls: The Apostle's Creed 83

Part IV The Lady "Speaks"

Chapter 11 The Motivation for the Mona Lisa 89

Chapter 12 Inhabiting Her Place: Mona Lisa 99

Chapter 13 The Feast of the Tabernacles: The Balcony and the Burdensome Yoke 123

Chapter 14 A Smile and an Unfinished Finger 133

Chapter 15 The Woman from Canaan 139

Chapter 16 Theological Duality 143

Chapter 17 St. John the Baptist: Witness to the Mona Lisa 147

Chapter 18 Leonardo's Last Anagram 151

Chapter 19 A Second Chance at Destiny 153

Part V Leonardo's Special Effects

Chapter 20 Beasts at the Gate of Jerusalem 161

Chapter 21 The Eyes of the Mona Lisa 165

Epilogue 169

Appendix: Lisa Gherardini: The Mona Vanna 173

Discussion Points 181

Works Cited and Further Reading 185

About the Author 193