Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty Six

Despite its fame, the Mona Lisa is actually only 31 inches long by 21 inches wide, smaller than the Mona Lisa posters sold in the Louvre gift shop.It hangs within a two-inch-thick protective glass frame on the northwestern wall of the state gallery.The painting is painted on a poplar board, da Vinci's smudging method makes it look ethereal and hazy, and the boundaries of things blend together. The Mona Lisa has been stolen twice since it was acquired by the Louvre.Most recently, in 1911, it disappeared from the square, the Louvre's "chamber of mystery".Parisians wept in the streets and published articles in newspapers begging the thieves to return the painting.Two years later, the painting was found in the mezzanine of a suitcase in a room at the Hotel Florence.

Now that Langdon had made it clear to Sophie that he had no intention of leaving at all, he and Sophie walked deeper into the National Gallery.When she was twenty yards away from the Mona Lisa, Sophie switched on the UV light.The ultraviolet light cast a fan of cyan light on the floor in front of them.Sophie swung the beam back and forth across the floor, looking for traces of photosensitive ink, like a minesweeper searching for mines. Langdon walked beside Sophie, excited to come face to face with the great work of art.His eyes widened and he cast his gaze beyond the shadow of the ultraviolet lamp.To their left, the large octagonal sofas for visitors to rest on the parquet floor look like a dark island in a vast ocean.

At this point, Langdon could already see the dark protective glass frame.He knew that behind that hung the most famous oil painting in the world. Langdon understood that the reason why the "Mona Lisa" became a world-famous art work was not because the Mona Lisa had a mysterious smile, nor because many art historians made mysterious explanations about it, but only because of Leonardo. Do da Vinci claimed it was his crowning achievement.He carried the painting with him wherever he went, saying he could not be separated from it because it was the most perfect expression of female beauty.

Still, many art historians believe da Vinci's love of the Mona Lisa had nothing to do with his artistic technique.In fact, it is just an ordinary portrait using the smudge method.Many believe da Vinci's love for the painting stemmed from a deeper reason: it contained a hidden message.In fact, the Mona Lisa is one of the most well-documented jokes in the world.Despite its subtle allusions and meanings, which are revealed in most art history tomes, it is unbelievable that most people still think her smile is very mysterious. Not mysterious at all, Langdon thought, walking towards the painting, the vague outlines becoming clearer in his eyes.Not mysterious at all.

Recently, Langdon shared the secrets of the "Mona Lisa" with a group of people.The identity of the group was unexpected -- they were inmates at the Essex County Jail.Langdon's in-prison seminar is part of Harvard's "Sending Education to Prison" project, which Langdon's colleagues call "Prisoner Culture." The lights in the shelter library were out.Standing in front of a slide projector, Langdon shared the secrets of the Mona Lisa with the inmates who had come to class.The concentration of these people was beyond his expectation-they were thick but sharp.Langdon projected a picture of the "Mona Lisa" onto the library wall and said, "You can see that the background behind the Mona Lisa is not on a horizontal line." Langdon pointed to the obvious difference and said: "Da Finch draws the horizon on the left significantly higher than the horizon on the right."

"He hung the picture askew?" asked one of the prisoners. Langdon chuckled to himself. "No, da Vinci didn't make that mistake very often. In fact, it was a little trick he played. He drew the horizon of the rural scene on the left lower, which made the left side of the Mona Lisa appear smaller than the The right side is larger. This is a little joke made by Da Vinci. Historically, people have assigned positions to men and women—the left represents women, and the right represents men. Because Da Vinci was a believer in feminism, he Make the Mona Lisa look more majestic and beautiful from the left." "I heard Leonardo da Vinci was a gay man," said a small man with a goatee.

Langdon had to admit, "Although historians don't usually mention it, Da Vinci was a gay man." "Is that why he threw himself into the cult of women?" "In fact, Da Vinci also endorsed the harmony between male and female. He believed that only when the male and female elements coexist can the human mind be illuminated." "Like a young woman with a penis?" Someone shouted.This question caused everyone to laugh.Langdon wanted to point out the root division of the word "hermaphrodite" and explain its connection with Hermes and Aphrodite, but he saw that everyone seemed unacceptable, so he give up.

"Hey, Mr. Langdon," a muscular man asked, "is it true that the Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci? I heard it is true." "Very likely," Langdon replied, "da Vinci was a prankster. Computer analysis shows that the Mona Lisa and da Vinci's self-portrait share many similarities in the faces of the figures. Whatever Leonardo da Vinci thought, his Mona Lisa was neither male nor female. She subtly concealed her androgynous information. She was a fusion of both sexes." "You're sure that the idea that the Mona Lisa is an ugly young woman is not Harvard's opinion."

Langdon laughed. "True. Actually, da Vinci left a big clue that the character was intersex. Has anyone ever heard of an Egyptian god named Amon?" "Yes!" said the tall man, "the god of male reproduction!" Langdon was taken aback. "It's written on every box of Amon brand condoms." The muscular man grinned, "There's a guy with a ram's head painted on the box, and it's written that he is the representative of male reproduction in Egyptian legends." God." Langdon wasn't familiar with the brand, but he was glad that the manufacturer hadn't misunderstood the symbolism. "That's right. Amon's image is a man with a ram's head. The slang term we now call 'sexual drive' has something to do with his curly horns and sexual promiscuity."

"Damn, I can't think of it!" "Damn it, you can't think of it," Langdon said. "Do you know who is the god corresponding to Amon? Who is the god who represents female reproduction in Egyptian legend?" There was a few seconds of silence. "It's Isis," Langdon told the crowd.He picked up a fountain pen and wrote down the words as he spoke, "The god who represents male reproduction is called Amon. The god who represents female reproduction is called Isis. Ancient texts once read it as L' ISA." Langdon finished writing and stepped back behind the slide projector. AMON L'ISA

"What revelation?" Langdon asked. "Mona Lisa . . . bullshit," someone whispered. Langdon nodded. "Gentlemen, not only does Mona Lisa's face look bisexual, but even her name is a combination of masculine and feminine elements. Friends, this is Da Vinci's little secret, and it is also the name of Mona Lisa. The reason why Narissa always smiles knowingly." "Grandfather is here," Sophie said suddenly, crouching down only ten feet from the Mona Lisa.She points the UV light at a point on the floor. At first, Langdon saw nothing.When he squatted down next to Sophie, he found a small drop of dried photosensitive liquid on the floor.ink?Suddenly he realized the usefulness of ultraviolet light.Blood.He gets excited.Sophie was right, Jacques Saunière had indeed been here before his death. "He doesn't come here for nothing," Sophie said softly, standing up. "I know he must have left me a message." She strode up to the "Mona Lisa", lighting the front of the painting with a lamp.She swung the beam back and forth across the floor in front of the painting. "There's nothing here!" At this moment, Langdon noticed a fuzzy purple spot on the protective glass frame in front of the Mona Lisa.Langdon grabbed Sophie's wrist and moved the beam up, toward the Mona Lisa itself. Both of them were stunned. On the protective glass in front of the Mona Lisa's face, six words were scrawled in purple light.