Rachel Reviews: I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons

I've seen the Mona Lisa, even had her on my wall for a while (as a print - I am no art thief). I've never once wondered what she might be thinking although I think there is a famous song which intimates just this: what is behind her enigmatic smile?

Natasha Solomons' novel attempts just that: to show us how Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait has seen the world around her through various stages of, what could be, her life. From artists' workshop to king's bathroom to gallery walls and beyond, all of her experience is related here.

It begins with her creation and we meet the inspiration for the portrait, Lisa Gherardini and are given a window into her life as a merchant's wife, as a mother and as a beautiful woman in Renaissance Florence.

Leonardo is key to this story and we learn that Leonardo and Mona can communicate. Mona has no animation - she remains static and immobile as a portrait should - but through a telepathic connection, Leonardo and Mona converse and a deep respectful relationship abides between the two throughout the book, similar to father and daughter and yet, something entirely different too.

It's a strange premise for a book and I would say difficult to pull off because Mona has no means to be demonstrative, as she has no way of moving herself physically nor being able to change her expression. Her view is narrow due to the limitations of her form and yet, Solomons has created a novel of depth and emotion, taking us on a tour of the art world from Michelangelo to Picasso and showing us Leonardo's inner circle at the time when he was his most creative, and beyond that to the time where he fell out of favour as an old man.

It's like a strange love affair as Mona Lisa loves Leonardo unreservedly and he also cannot bear to be apart from her.

I liked the insight into Leonardo's world. It's an interesting way to bring it alive for readers. I liked the way that Solomons talks of da Vinci's homosexuality in terms of love shared by two humans rather than sensationalising it. I liked sitting with Picasso in the Louvre alongside Mona Lisa and I liked how Solomons used the portrait as a metaphor - Mona is trapped within the confines made for her and although she is intelligent and astute, she can never be more than a portrait on the wall.

A good read.

Rachel Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐