“Old Masters in the Louvre”

During her trip to Europe, it is possible that Whitman visited the Louvre Museum in Paris, France and saw Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa with her own eyes. In January 1868, Whitman transcribed this section of an article titled “Old Masters in the Louvre” by Eugene Benson from The Atlantic monthly, a Boston publication. Whitman must have strongly agreed with Benson’s sentiments regarding the illusive expression of Mona Lisa:

“I hold the most remarkable example of expression in art to be Leonardo da Vinci’s strange haunting face of Mona Lisa, the Florentine wife; in some respects the most remarkable picture in the world. It is of an order of excellence not perceived by most men. It is both subtle and intense. A famous critic called it ‘the mighty portrait of Leonardo.’ Leonardo gives to his faces such an imprint of superiority that one feels disturbed in their presence. ‘The lids of her profound eyes hold secrets unknown to the profane.'”