The Mona Lisa

A few nights ago, Noah and I were laying in his bed reading some books.  As we were reading, we came across a picture of Leonardo daVinci's painting, the Mona Lisa.  Noah specifically asked about the painting because he had seen it before.  I explained to Noah, that the Mona Lisa was one of the most famous paintings in all the world and was worth millions of dollars. 

"But, why?" he asked. 

I then tried to explain that many people describe the women's smile in the painting as being very mysterious.  People wonder why she is smiling and what is the story behind the painting.

Noah was still not convinced.  "But why is it worth millions of dollars?  Lots of people can paint pictures of people.  Even kids in my class can paint pictures like this."  Hmm, you think so buddy?  Not so sure about that.

Then I tried another tact by explaining that at one point in history the painting was stolen and was missing for two years before it was found.  That did not work either.  Eventually Noah just shrugged his sholders and we continued reading.  The idea of a piece of artwork being worth millions of dollars completely lost on him.

I was tempted to show Noah some of Jackson Pollack's work, but ultimately decided that he had experienced enough confustion for one night.