How can I use this resource?

With this resource, you can learn about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist and genius who painted Mona Lisa. You can also color 25 templates of different parts of the painting and glue them together to make a large poster. This is a great way to practice teamwork and artistic skills. It is also a way to appreciate the beauty and complexity of the painting. You can use this resource to decorate your classroom, or bulletin board with a stunning, giant replica of Mona Lisa.

What does this resource contain?

This resource contains 25 templates for making a giant posterof Mona Lisa. Each template has a part of the painting that you can color according to the original or your own imagination. The templates are based on the painting that is in the Louvre museum in Paris. The resource contains three different sizes:

•  Miniature (6.8 x 4.7 in / 17.4 x 12 cm)

•  Study painting (9.7 x 6.7 in / 24.6 x 17 cm)

•  Poster (45.3 x 31.5 in / 115 x 80 cm)

You can print the templates on white paper and color them with crayons, markers, pencils, or paints. The resource also provides you with some information about the history and meaning of Mona Lisa and Leonardo da Vinci.

Why is the Mona Lisa considered a masterpiece?

What makes Mona Lisa so interesting? Since its creation, the ”mysterious smile” of Mona Lisa has become a well-known phrase. No single emotion can be attributed to her facial expression alone. She appears friendly and lovely but at the same time reserved and cold. With his Mona Lisa („La Gioconda“) the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) created a legend in Renaissance art. The painting, which was created around 1502 and hangs in the Louvre museum in Paris, still captivates thousands of visitors every day. Da Vinci, who has gone down in history as a creative universal genius, shows us a woman in a half portrait with a landscape in the background. What‘s special is the atmosphere of the picture: because her face is modeled mainly by light and shadow and lacks clear contour (sfumato technique), it appears soft and mysterious. This work is one of the most famous paintings ever. Its fame has meant that it‘s inspired many imitations in the visual arts. You can also find countless caricatures of the Mona Lisa: as a duck, a cartoon character, a celebrity, with different objects in her hand or her finger up her nose- proof of her universal fame. 

Children and young people are particularly captivated by the way Mona Lisa seems to always follow your gaze. Leonardo achieved this by using two different vanishing points. The enigmatic expression of her face leaves it up to the viewer’s ideas and suggestions as to what lies behind the mysterious atmosphere of the painting and how this is achieved. Since research even to this day has not been able to solve all the questions this painting poses, it remains ever topical and exciting. In addition to the mystery of her special smile and observant look, the popularity of the painting is probably also related to the fact that it’s a masterpiece from da Vinci and is a perfect reflection of his genius skills.