Leonardino da Vincino — A child's take on Mona Lisa

We all know Leonardo da Vinci's (1503 – 1516) main works of art and inventions, but we don’t know what was his creative modus operandi, or what went through his mind when he painted, for instance, Mona Lisa. Children are incredibly ingenious, cheerful and expressive when they are in a creative flow. This blog post is about our son Bob's (4 years, 8 months) reinterpretation of Mona Lisa. I hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you do carry out similar art projects with your child.  

"Leonardino da Vincino" is busy painting

I have to say that the process of Bob painting the picture was far more fascinating than the actual finished painting. Children are born creative and expressive. The challenge is how to nurture and make the creativity and expressiveness last into adulthood and beyond.

Day 1

We looked at a picture of Mona Lisa. First, Bob laid a large, stretched canvas (55 x 140 cm) on the floor and drew on it with a brown oilwax crayon. He was exhilarated when he noticed that his crayon was running out. Bob had a holistic approach and a good grip when he was drawing. Next Bob chose silver, black and blue acrylic paint, and started to paint the canvas. “Here is a battle of colours”, and he told which colour is currently victorious. At times he danced and sang, “Oooo-ooo-ooo Frontside Ollie”, a number one song amongst children. Apparently, there were "many kinds of attacks and battles between colours" on the canvas.

Day 2 

We started by looking at the canvas from afar. What does it look like? “Now it looks smaller, said Bob.” 

We discussed how there is no right or wrong in art, and that if you don't like something, you can always retouch or repaint over it — after all, artists like Leonardo da Vinci who started painting Mona Lisa in 1503, may have finished painting the portrait in France years later, according to one estimate, in 1516. So, Da Vinci used a total of 13 year to paint, every now and then, this petit yet precious portrait. 

Bob nodded and looked at the canvas enthusiastically. Bob was excited to paint with two brushes at the same time and did small dance moves and said “rock‘ n ’roll”. Then finally, he chose red acrylic paint, and started to brush some “lava” on the canvas. Bob is into volcanoes, minerals and precious stones. 
Bob wanted his canvas to be hung high on a hook on the ceiling. He smiled and said, that "the painting was not stuck in the wall, but it could swing in the air".

Bob continues to paint with two brushes: “Auxiliary painting [happens] when both hands paint and the feet keep on moving”. Why do we have legs? Bob: "Because we can run and we would not need wooden legs."

Day 3 

“That’s me”, said Bob! ”It was fun, because I got to paint with all the colours, that I wanted to paint”. What is this [thing] painted in brown? ”Oh, guess what tree is it?! It is a chocolate tree. It’s brown with lots of chocolate! The black [paint] is a lemonade covering, every time you drink it, it tastes like a tree. But underneath [the black paint] the taste is delicious. What about the blue? ”When I painted it, it was a battle of colours, but now it is battle of tastes. Blue is just lemonade. Silver is silk-lemonade, a matter that sucks people from drinking [the] real lemonade”. It is a painting of Albert Hubert.”

Where is Leonardo da Vinci from? ”Definitely not from my town. He is not close to me. I think he feels like someone who would live in Italy”, concluded Bob.

PS: Eventually Bob's take on Mona Lisa (here below) was framed 13 June 2013, but it is possible that it is not “ready” yet.