The Mona Lisa Is Coming To The North Loop. Sort Of.
A meticulously-crafted facsimile of the famed Mona Lisa is coming to the Italian Cultural Center in the North Loop on April 26th.
It was painstakingly created by world renowned Minnesota native Mark Balma, using the same techniques and materials that Leonardo da Vinci used in the 16th century to create the original, such as Oil of Spike Lavender and Walnut Oil.
And just as da Vinci did, the classically-trained Balma painted his facsimile on a single pane of poplar wood after a finely-crafted Italian frame was affixed to it.
Credit: The Art Treehouse
As a young adult, Balma studied in Florence with Italian master Pietro Annigoni. He has portraits and frescoes on display throughout Europe and the United States.
Balma has made national news here in the U.S.–for example, in 1994 when CBS Sunday Morning profiled the classical fresco he was creating on the downtown Minneapolis campus of the University of St. Thomas.
He also waged a one-of-a-kind protest against the killing of an African lion by a Minnesota dentist in 2015, setting up a giant canvas outside the dentist’s office and crafting an original painting of Cecil the lion.
The Italian Cultural Center is hosting a reception for Balma and his Mona Lisa facsimile on the 26th at the organization’s headquarters, 250 North 3rd Avenue, 6th floor. It says this will be a “once-in-a-lifetime chance to engage intimately with one of the most famous artworks in history, recreated with stunning accuracy and vibrancy.”
By Mike Binkley, North Loop volunteer
