In the initial study for Corrugated Gioconda Smart developed the composition by painting directly onto the cover of a 1970s savings bank calendar. He incorporated a reproduction of the painting The gift of the ring, wedding scene between Sienese noble families 1473 by Italian artist Sano di Pietro, using the text from the image to delineate the corrugations of a metal fence. In the final work, Smart replaced di Pietro’s image with one of the most recognisable icons of European culture, Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa (1503–1519). Depicted as a torn poster, a reproduction of a reproduction, Smart draws our attention to the power of art and images across time.
