Eileen Chang - Changing Clothes Chronicle

Author: Eileen Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features:
Talking about painting, in my former school classroom, there was a painting of "Mona Lisa," a famous artwork from the Italian Renaissance. The teacher said, "Pay attention to the woman's strange smile." Indeed, it was a beautiful, fleeting smile that gave one a slight sense of unease. It was as if it could not be held for even a moment, even when I tried to focus on it, it slipped away, making one inexplicably feel disappointed. The teacher told us that the artist had painstakingly collected all kinds of rare and lovely things from around the world and placed them in front of the woman to elicit such a smile. I didn't like this explanation. Green turtles, mummies' feet, and mechanical toys didn't seem to make people laugh like that. It would be difficult to make someone laugh like that, wouldn't it? But it might also be very easy. A woman suddenly thinks of any small gesture of her lover, making him seem exceptionally childish, adorable, and pitiful. She suddenly feels full of tolerance, growing endlessly beyond herself, shielding his past and future. Her eyes might then hold such a distant, wistful smile. The model for "Mona Lisa" has been identified.