Leonardo Da'vinci's Mona Lisa Vs. Marcel Duchamp's Mona Lisa
...ditional art. Duchamp made his statement by buying a postcard of the Mona Lisa and drawing a mustache and goatee on her face. He also wrote the caption L.H.O.O.Q. When pronounced in English, one might think he is telling you to look. In French these letters sound like, “She has a hot ass.” By defacing the Queen of “high art,” Duchamp forced people to focus on his action and the meaning behind the caption rather than the art itself. Until recently, a distinction could have been made between high and low art. Works like this started confusion toward the belief of what can be considered high art. Low art is known to be mass produced, low quality, and caters to popular taste. Duchamp makes us realize that the Mona Lisa is not far from being classified under this category. It is almost a sin to categorize the Mona Lisa as low art when she is so well revered and considered an icon of high art. The Mona Lisa is not as original as society has made her out to be. You can find a replica of the Mona Lisa in every form imaginable, even on a common postcard. The Mona Lisa has been mass produced, thus catering to popular taste. Even her “unique” smile is not as rare as we have thought it to be. Da Vinci uses that same smile on St. Anne in the Burlington House Cart...