STANDARDS

CCSS: 7.G.A.1, MP5, MP6, MP7

TEKS: 7.5C, 6.5A

The Secret History of the Mona Lisa

YOUR MISSION:  As you read, use scale factors to find the dimensions of the artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, including his masterpiece the Mona Lisa. Leonardo was one of the most famous painters, inventors, and thinkers of the European Renaissance. This movement in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries celebrated art, literature, and science. Use the online answer sheet to record your answers. 

The Secret History of the Mona Lisa Read-Aloud
Listen to a read-aloud of The Secret History of the Mona Lisa graphic novel.
Comic of da Vinci hoping new work presents itself in Italy 1503
Comic of a person wanting to hiring da Vinci for a private commission
Comic of person asking if da Vinci can paint portrait of their wife

Before the Mona Lisa, Leonardo painted several portraits. Lady with an Ermine is 21 inches tall and 15 inches wide. If Leonardo wanted to enlarge this painting using a scale factor of 1:3, what would its new dimensions be?


Leonardo’s assistant was most likely the model for Portrait of a Musician. The scale factor from the painting to real life is 4:5. The figure in the painting measures 15 inches from the waist up. What’s this measurement in real life?


Another of Leonardo’s masterworks is the mural The Last Supper. The scale factor from one of Leonardo’s sketches to the final mural is 3:100. The final mural is 346 inches wide and 181 inches tall. What were the dimensions of the sketch?


Illustration of Leonardo da Vinci staring at painting in contemplation

A. The Mona Lisa is a painting of Lisa del Giocondo. In one sketch, Leonardo used a scale factor from the sketch to real life of about 1:5. If her face was 8 inches long, how long was it in the sketch?


B. Leonardo did another sketch of Lisa del Giocondo while she was standing using the same scale factor. This sketch of her measured about 13 inches tall. How tall was Lisa del Giocondo?


Comic of da Vinci spending over two years forgetting to finish the painting
Comic of da Vinci traveling with the Mona Lisa, always working on it

A. Mona Lisa is 30 inches tall and 21 inches wide. Raphael, another Renaissance artist, made a sketch of the Mona Lisa using a scale factor of 1:3 from the sketch to the painting. What were the dimensions of Raphael’s sketch?


B. Raphael likely used this sketch as the basis for his painting Young Woman with Unicorn, which is 26 inches tall. What scale factor did he use to scale up his sketch for this painting?


Comic of Mona Lisa being displayed in palaces after da Vinci's death & then in the Louvre
Comic of the Mona Lisa becoming most famous painting in the world in 1911 after being stolen

If you wanted to draw your own version of the Mona Lisa on a piece of paper that’s 10 inches tall, what scale factor would you use?


Swap It!
Play a cool math game about proportional measurements.
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