Vanity of Art

Vanity of art: You may think it’s vain to be vain. You could imagine Mona Lisa in the privacy of her boudoir, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most famous woman of all.”

And no one would be surprised if the mirror responded to the lovely Mona, “Of course you are my dear, and you may always be!”

Famous works of art share one thing in common, they have all earned the right to project vanity. These works of art constantly receive praise, not only from those who have the honor to stand before them, but think about all of the written histories outlining how they were made and by whom.

If you were the actual painting created by Leonardo da Vinci of the Mona Lisa, and you were hanging in the Louvre in Paris, and every day the museum was open, you would be looking out over a sea of humanity, lobbying for a perfect position to capture you and them in a selfie. Now there you may find some social media vanity of the infamous; “I was there, see here’s proof for all my friends and followers to see.”

The statue of David created by Michelangelo is located in the Accademia Gallery of Florence. Now there is some vanity proudly on display. It overpowers all mere mortals and can be the source of much envy. There’s only one way to photograph this monolithic man and that is straight up… If you’re lucky when you create a selfie, you will capture your head…