Mona Lisa holds our gaze.

The mystery of her private smile compels us to wonder. We are drawn to an essence older by far than Leonardo da Vinci’s sixteenth century painting.

As I photographed Linda in 1977, early in my work with women and birth, I asked Linda to look into the lens with who she knew to be.

Linda looks out from herself with the beauty and wisdom of her pregnancy.

Sometime later I was doing a slide presentation (remember slides and film) for a childbirth class. Looking at this photograph projected on the screen, I suddenly saw Mona Lisa!

Mona Lisa was pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I proclaimed to the audience, excited and deeply certain of this new insight that also felt very old.

Linda and Mona Lisa share an exquisite expression, reflecting women’s ancient power and grace of holding life in their wombs. Women pregnant with the mystery of creation. Their graceful hands rest lightly on this mystery.

I continued speaking about Mona Lisa being pregnant in classes and presentations. My sons grew up patiently listening to me talk this talk. In 1987 I published an article, “Mona Lisa Was Pregnant.”

Recently my oldest son John who is an anthropologist, sent me an article with a note, “You were right.” High grade scans taken at the Louvre in 2004 reveal that details of the veil or shawl Mona Lisa wore in the portrait indicate it was “a garment women of the Italian Renaissance wore when they were expecting, a leading French museum researcher, Michael Menu said.” These scans are in the book “Mona Lisa: Inside the Painting” published in 2006.

I love seeing the Mona Lisa expression on faces of pregnant women.
Do you see Mona Lisa moments too?
Let me know!