Mona Lisa unveiled!
Posted by Huw,
A new Art set that recreates what is probably the most famous painting in the world has been announced. Here's the press release:
31213 Mona Lisa
1,503 pieces, rated 18+
€99.99 / US$99.99 / £89.99 / AU$169.99
Available for pre-order at LEGO.com today. Released on October 1st
Inspired by the world’s most recognisable painting, the LEGO Art Mona Lisa invites art and LEGO lovers to recreate Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece in 3D. This bold and unique interpretation comprises 1,503 LEGO elements and new colour hues to accurately reflect the colours used by da Vinci over 500 years ago, before the paint changed with age.
Additionally, the new LEGO masterpiece has been designed with a drum-lacquered gold, detachable frame, so it can be hung on the wall and displayed along with other LEGO Art sets.
Milan Madge, Designer at the LEGO Group, said: “It has been such a pleasure to be part of bringing such a special piece of art history to life in LEGO form. The Mona Lisa is obviously world famous, but our familiarity with her can obscure what a groundbreaking work of art this painting is.
A culmination of Da Vinci’s lifelong study of science and nature, the Mona Lisa is packed with stories and details that we thoroughly enjoyed researching and implementing. We’re excited for LEGO fans and art lovers to explore more about this enigmatic artwork, and to have the opportunity to hang a piece of LEGO history on their walls.”
Art and LEGO fans can find their flow as they build along to The LEGO Art Podcast, which will accompany the set at launch on 1st October. Packed with fascinating content on the Mona Lisa’s timeless appeal, this episode is hosted by Jack Gardner Vaa, who invited three special guests: Dr. Francesca Borgo (Professor of Art History at the University of St Andrews), Jennifer Dasal (host of the ArtCurious Podcast) and Milan Madge (designer of the LEGO Art Mona Lisa).
View more images on the set details page.
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139 comments on this article
April Fools?
That... face.
Looks good overall! Kinda hard to see the smile though. It’s also a lot brighter than I usually picture the Mona Lisa.
I am frightened…
Weird shadowing…
I love all the art sets, keep them coming.
I thought it was unveiled in the 16th century...
Why Lego is flooding the market with this stuff?
Imho Lego is oversaturating the market.
Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)
$100 so I can build this with a nice black handle bar mustache...
So tempting...
I like what they did with the frame, even when that will be a rather annoying and tedious build.
(and all of those drum-lacquered gold pieces make it a pretty decent parts pack)
The painting itself....not so much. It just doesn't look right. Not like the real thing, but also not Legofied enough. Right in the uncanny valley.
I feel like Starry Night lent itself better for a lego set. Less abstract paintings just look really weird in lego form
The minifigure of the artist is also dearly missed.
I never knew she even had a veil.
Wow, this looks surprisingly impressive! The shading, color blocking, and slight relief for the hands and facial features do a really good job of evoking the detail of the original even with the inherent blockiness of Lego as a medium. And it's always nice to see more actual fine art in the Lego Art theme, which can be a bit dominated by pop-culture iconography at times.
Definitely not for me but considering the medium (reduced colour palette, incredibly reduced resolution, limited geometric shapes), I'd say this is excellent.
This looks a heck of a lot better than I expected. I don't buy Art sets and I won't be buying this one, but I do like it.
Beast Jesus got a rival.
The way they stylized her face gives off too much corporate memphis vibes for me to appreciate it imo.
I can't not see Jimmy Carr's face when I look at it
I think it looks pretty good, but I'm more interested in it as a parts pack. I can see some good parts for land masses and water, not to mention all that drum-lacquered gold.
how far away do you need be, see any similarity
should been single pieces 1x1
Ah, my dame.
So what are the new colour hues they talk about? Is that strip over her body different from dark tan? Is there a lighter brown that is not dark orange? *
*yes, I know brown is just dark orange
@MisterP said:
"Why Lego is flooding the market with this stuff?
Imho Lego is oversaturating the market."
I appreciate the vast number and diversity of sets. I could no longer buy all the sets I like, or be a ‘completist’, but I really like the ones I buy.
There is sets for all tastes. You don’t have to buy them all and I don’t know why you suggest it’s negative.
Looks like a Chinese knockoff to me. That face, totally weird. Looks more like a female Klingon from the TNG era to me than Mona Lisa.
Those gold pieces are tempting me.
I don't know what the complaints are about, it looks just like him, its meant to be jimmy carr right?
It looks good for what it is, but it can't compare to Starry Starry Night. The latter is more about the feeling of the piece, which Lego captured well, while this is about the details of the art, which Lego is unsuited for.
@MisterP said:
"Why Lego is flooding the market with this stuff?
Imho Lego is oversaturating the market."
While LEGO is reporting a "profit" their percentage is significantly lower than the price increases in the last year which tends to indicate less units are moving...which is further supported by incentives to purchase being strategically spaced out more in addition to the early release of a number of sets, including the modular, last December to boost sales/reduce year-end inventory.
LEGO need to continue to diversify it's portfolio and attract new consumers to account for the changing habits of its current consumers. And with most of these sets in development for at least 18months they need to get them out sooner than later to recoup their costs, though this early release announcement (October 2024) is rather interesting. Not to mention there was a substantial designer hiring phase 18-24 months ago so suspect there is a lot more coming out of the hopper for this year.
Marketing mantra...buy lots and buy often...so keep all the offerings coming. Suspect we will see shorter shelf lives of those under-performers.
Great frame!!!
This really reminds me of the 'Monkey Christ' fresco.
This probably one of those which looks better in the flesh, closer up because I think I would have preferred a dot version.
But I really like the art theme so I'll have to get it eventually.
I think I floated this as a potential LEGO set back in my Brick Fanatics days… hopefully my other predictions come true some day!
It's Neil from The Young Ones!
Disappointed, this is a pass for me. The choice to make it the "original" one before the paint aged ONLY is a bad choice IMHO, and her face just looks... wrong.
@ResIspaLoquitor Yes, this! I'll buy that immediately! Best chance for LEGO to take advantage of its "18+" rating for their biggest sets. :)
WOW! What a great parts pack!
@vizzitor said:
"It's Neil from The Young Ones!"
Hahaha, totally! Now I can never unsee that!
First thought ... awful.
Second though ... comical.
Third thought ... it's kinda growing on me!
Hopefully nobody throws soup at it.
It's official, Lego should never turn humans into sets
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
I'd be curious to see the discussions on "Interesting part usage"
But the important question is, during the build do the first pieces that go on make up the words THIS IS A FAKE ?
This reminds me of that terrible restoration of the Jesus painting a few years ago
I didn't know Picasso painted the Mona Lisa!
Nightmare fuel. It looks more like a Habsburg than Mona Lisa.
Her eyebrow reminds me of the Uruk-Hai face from LOTR movies.
I've seen a comment mentioning that it might possibly look 100x better if you replace the printed eyes and mouth with blank pieces, and seeing someone else's photoshopped picture of the set doing just that, it really does look better. Really, try it out.
@DaLegoNerd1 said:
"It's official, Lego should never turn humans into sets"
Minifigures, anyone?
On another note, criticism is nice but hateful comments are sad to see.
Perfect. Now my evil scheme can proceed...
I will use this replica to quietly replace the real Mona Lisa and steal her for myself! No one will be able to stop me! Muahahah!
Muahahah... Wait, is this one made of Lego? I loved building with Lego when I was a wee lad. I think I'll just stick with this one instead. Nevermind! Carry on.
Yo I'm just excited for the new warm tan tiles coming in PAB in a few months!
@gorillax said:
" @winbrant said:
" @MisterP said:
"Why Lego is flooding the market with this stuff?
Imho Lego is oversaturating the market."
While LEGO is reporting a "profit" their percentage is significantly lower than the price increases in the last year which tends to indicate less units are moving...which is further supported by incentives to purchase being strategically spaced out more in addition to the early release of a number of sets, including the modular, last December to boost sales/reduce year-end inventory.
LEGO need to continue to diversify it's portfolio and attract new consumers to account for the changing habits of its current consumers. And with most of these sets in development for at least 18months they need to get them out sooner than later to recoup their costs, though this early release announcement (October 2024) is rather interesting. Not to mention there was a substantial designer hiring phase 18-24 months ago so suspect there is a lot more coming out of the hopper for this year.
Marketing mantra...buy lots and buy often...so keep all the offerings coming. Suspect we will see shorter shelf lives of those under-performers."
LEGO's not going to attract many new customers with these hundred dollar sets when even LEGO fans keep balking at the prices, focusing on the younger generations is the way to build up long term customers but alot of companies these days keep releasing products that price them out
"
Guys, considering inflation and the output of sets spitted out, thats increasing every year, it's hard to keep up with this pace. Nonetheless Lego is overflooding the market. I don't know how it is in US, but here in europe there also many second hand platforms, where you can buy used sets. Too many bricks around. If lego continues to push with sales the collection-reselling bubbles will explode. In that case many many less afols and Lego will crack.
The lack of minifigures is disappointing. Leonardo would be obvious, but a minifigure of Lisa herself would have also been fantastic. Now, unless there's a LEGO Movie 3 all of a sudden, I don't think there's much chance of either getting minifigures.
@SDlgo9 said:
"But the important question is, during the build do the first pieces that go on make up the words THIS IS A FAKE ?"
It had better! Everyone knows the original Mona Lisa was destroyed by fire in 1979, along with five copies also by Da Vinci's hand. This is the seventh, and last remaining version that was saved by the Doctor from the inferno caused by the alien Scaroth!
(as seen in 'City of Death', a 4th Doctor serial from 1979)
Is Nat King Cole running through anyone else's head?
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
Lego's designers do seem to enjoy finding ways to use https://brickset.com/parts/design-25994
@markisnot said:
"$100 so I can build this with a nice black handle bar mustache...
So tempting..."
Add a pair of glasses, too.
drum lacquered gold?
Do the eyes follow you like the original painting?
Well, they had to make it at one point! Not so sure about the face, but I think this is a really good rendition.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Is Nat King Cole running through anyone else's head?"
Dunno what you're getting at.
All I can see is just a cold and lonely lovely work of art...
Her smile is so enigmatic.
Her studs seem to follow you around the room.
It looks like 75582 Brick Built Gru got a competitor
boy, are they pushing Paris! Olympics coming up?
It looks like Ted from Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure!
I'm sure that Lego is betting on tourists from the Olympics games. Two "French" sets in a row, just before Paris 2024, it's too suspicious.
About this set, it's pretty ugly. It should be sold as a Picasso reinterpretation
Frightening...
Jang's reaction video about this is amazing!
The designer did a great job ultimately. Significantly better than I ever could. I don't love the proportions of the face to neck. I don't have the original artwork memorized, so that could be accurate. And with that said, I don't understand the importance of it being before the ink faded? Like, is this not what it looks like?
I think including a figure could have been neat since they did with Starry Night. But they didn't with the Wave artwork, so who knows.
I won't be getting this, but it looks fine. I love the frame.
Yeah... It wont be hanged on my wall. Or near of my walls, or even my house. Because I have seen enough movies to know that this might be awaken due to a curse or something.
At first, I like it. But to be honest, I'm also torn on it. This might be why LEGO just decided to leave the Statue of Liberty face blank. I do very much like the use of depth in the portrait.
This is insane... This has no sense. And it costs 100 euros, pure madness....
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
Well, we have a pink butthole on the tiger.
@MisterP said:
"Why Lego is flooding the market with this stuff?
Imho Lego is oversaturating the market."
Also flooding with goldbars
Who is actually buying this?
@sjr60 said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Is Nat King Cole running through anyone else's head?"
Dunno what you're getting at.
All I can see is just a cold and lonely lovely work of art..."
I guess the reference I brought to your doorstep will just lie there...
@Oorhon said:"Yeah... It wont be hanged on my wall. Or near of my walls, or even my house. Because I have seen enough movies to know that this might be awaken due to a curse or something."
"Don't blink. Blink and you're dead."
@WizardOfOss said:
" @vizzitor said:
"It's Neil from The Young Ones!"
Hahaha, totally! Now I can never unsee that!"
Nigel “Planar”
@PixelTheDragon said:
"Looks good overall! Kinda hard to see the smile though. It’s also a lot brighter than I usually picture the Mona Lisa. "
“Hard to see the smile.” Are you familiar with the centuries of discussion regarding this painting? ??
Leonardo da Vinci and Pablo Picasso did a group project....
Wow, look at all those gold pieces... Lovely...
Can we get a version with only the frame? That's all I want.
Totally washable. Great target to practice soup throws. Made of petroleum, but hey, it's okay if it's in service to the revolution.
This: ‘Something from a horror movie’ JANG
In contrast to Nathan Sawaya’s Mona Lisa mosaic which is hugely better but also three times the number of pieces: https://media.wbur.org/wp/2014/10/picLegoSawaya141008_0594MonaLisaw.jpg
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
It should come with a black 2x4 tile. (Or the more traditional fig leaf)
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
I’m hoping for the Statue of David to show up in an Animal Crossing set.
Firstly: the designer(s) did a great job capturing the shapes and colors, and that frame is lovely. I also like that it's properly built up and not just a dot mosaic.
That said... I've been saying "And Lego's quest to make every single IP into lego continues" for years at this point, and that's all well and good... but it feels kind of wrong to see them attempt a masterpiece-level painting of a real person. I understand that copies of this work are abundant and merchandising of its likeness is everywhere... but really?
Well, kudos for taking the detail of modern pieces to its limit, but idk. This feels wrong to me. I can't even properly describe it. Maybe it's just that we all know what the source material looks like. And that it depicts a detailed, realistic painting, compared to something more stylized like The Great Wave or expressive like The Starry Night.
It won't stop this from selling or anything. But I really hope they're not going to attempt other such works like the Girl With the Pearl Earring.
Looks just as bad as the source material, in other words an over-hyped mediocre portrait, that even the painter didn't like.
But how can this cost only 100 bucks with 300x "high cost" drum lacquered gold pieces, when we couldn't get a proper golden Thanos glove or metallic silver Mando helmet with less pieces?
@kkoster79 said:
"Do the eyes follow you like the original painting?"
tbh I'd be worried about this entire thing following me
@YoungB1ood said:
"Who is actually buying this?"
No one. It releases in October.
This needs a new BrickSet survey category all of its own. I like the idea and am interested in the concept. But I don’t want on my wall a LEGO picture of Neil from The Young Ones!
I love how one of the marketing selling points was the ability to remove the best part of the set (the drum lacquered gold frame).
Jimmy Carr's looking well.
Back Street Boys' reaction:
Tell me, why?
Massive swing and a miss.
I suppose I'm very much in the minority here, because I rather like it
Am I the only one who sees the potential here? Cant wait to mod this into one of the 1000s of Mona Lisa parodies that can be found on the web :)
Look, I’m not a fan of the Art line. I do have Starry Night and must say that it really does look good because it does something with that painting that can only be done in Lego. But this does not take advantage of Lego in anyway. They should have made it a bust of Mona Lisa and the. You’d have something interesting and unique. As it is, it just looks terrible.
This looks too creepy for me to buy.
No. No,no,no,no,no.
Not as disappointing as the real one. Was hoping for "the scream"
Only slightly puzzled. Why's she brought a hockey stick with her?
And will buying 3 get me a full size one, like I got with Elvis!
If this was an exclusive for the Louvre I reckon it would be a bestseller in the gift shop. Personally I don’t feel it lends itself to the medium as well as the other choices have done, I wouldn’t buy it, but if I was given it as a gift I’d really making it.
I like the frame. Needs some goggly eyes and some teeth on her though…..and eyebrows
I don't like it at all. That face
@missedoutagain said:
"how far away do you need be, see any similarity"
500 miles should do it.
Pretty cool set NGL
@Reventon said:
" @missedoutagain said:
"how far away do you need be, see any similarity"
500 miles should do it."
And I would walk 500 more....
(spits coffee all over phone)
On second glance (that's all that I can bear), that is a lot of expensive parts. I could see getting this (or perhaps more) with a really good sale.
@Darth_Dee said:
"It looks like Ted from Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure!"
yes! thats what i thought.
Hmm... 6 months pre-order. No risks there then. Individually signed and numbered copies maybe!
@sjr60 said:
"Hmm... 6 months pre-order. No risks there then. "
Word on the street is that it was originally going to be released much sooner but had to be delayed due to quality issues with the gold drum lacquered parts.
@Zander said:
" @sjr60 said:
"Hmm... 6 months pre-order. No risks there then. "
Word on the street is that it was originally going to be released much sooner but had to be delayed due to quality issues with the gold drum lacquered parts."
Maybe it'll be all gold stickers now!!
They need to add another option to the purchase poll they use - "No, cuz it's ugly as all heck"
@Graysmith said:
"April Fools?
That... face."
…Will give me nightmares!
Ha ha ha ha! I thought it was a band member of Slade.
Great parts harvest though! Always welcome for projects.
I’m honestly confused by all the hate, I think it’s a pretty decent representation of the painting, end of. My personal opinion of course, but wow there’s a lot of opposing opinions here haha.
No.
31213 Mona Lisa
1,503 pieces, rated 18+
€99.99 / US$99.99 / £89.99 / AU$1690.99
Available for pre-order at LEGO.com/creepy today. Will be released in 6 months if minimum 3,000 pre-orders are received
“Inspired” by the world’s most recognizable if not faded painting, the LEGO Art Mona Lisa invites art, horror, and LEGO lovers to recreate Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece through terror inducing cubism. This browless and unique interpretation comprises 1,503 LEGO elements and new colour hues we can only imagine accurately reflect the colours used by da Vinci over 500 years ago, before the paint changed with age and soup.
Additionally, the masterful drum-lacquered gold frame includes a detachable painting, so the frame can be used for other, less cringey images and gaudily displayed along with other LEGO Art sets like The Amazing Spider-Man and Hufflepuff Crest.
Milan Madge, Designer at the LEGO Group, said: “It has been such a pleasure to be part of bringing such a special amalgam of unrelated art history to life in LEGO form. O Draconian Devil, Mona Lisa is obviously world famous, both as a painting and plot device, but our familiarity with her can obscure what a groundbreaking work of art this painting is…is this painting of…is art.
A culmination of Da Vinci’s lifelong study of science, nature and his neighbor’s wife, the Mona Lisa is packed with stories and details that we thoroughly enjoyed researching and then completely changing. We’re paid to be excited for LEGO fans and art lovers to explore more about this enigmatic set choice, and to have the opportunity to hang a piece of something on their walls.”
Art and LEGO fans can find their flow as they build along to a Smartless Podcast or the one we threw together at the last minute for this release. Though not packed with content on the Mona Lisa’s timeless appeal, the Smartless episode is hosted by Jack from Will and Grace, who invited three special guests: Dr. Oz, Jennifer Aniston, and Milan Madge (designer of the LEGO Art Mona Lisa) to discuss LEGO, medical, and stage disaster stories
Wow, the same designer as 10283 Space Shuttle. Well there's certainly no denying the talent but...
Will still definitely get it, but it joins the 'So Bad They're Good' collection, with the likes of 40468 and 30578 !
It's almost like an animation cel look for this piece.
The frame is very nice but with this 'cartoon' look, I would've preferred it if it was a mosaic instead.
There's no 'antique' look to the image, no charm of the painted original.
It's nicely designed but again, it's like an animation cel/cartoon-ish version.
Yes, as soon as it's released
Yes, eventually
Maybe, I haven't made up my mind yet
No, it doesn't interest me
No, it's too expensive
No, but I like it
No, because it's ugly AF [x]
Halfway between Da Vinci and Picasso there's... this.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"But the important question is, during the build do the first pieces that go on make up the words THIS IS A FAKE ?"
It had better! Everyone knows the original Mona Lisa was destroyed by fire in 1979, along with five copies also by Da Vinci's hand. This is the seventh, and last remaining version that was saved by the Doctor from the inferno caused by the alien Scaroth!
(as seen in 'City of Death', a 4th Doctor serial from 1979) "
Came here for this - happy the comment was made! (Don't forget the painting came to life in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures')
Nice attempt, but I’m all in for this for the gold pieces in the frame as a parts pack! Fill up that vault in the Brick Bank!
@Chilis_no said:
"Nice attempt, but I’m all in for this for the gold pieces in the frame as a parts pack! Fill up that vault in the Brick Bank!"
For me, it's Smaug's Lair or Gringotts. ;)
And... yet, they still won't make a Nubian cruiser. :(
Mona Lisa, famous for the smile
Lego Mona Lisa, no smile
The face is more Picasso than Da Vinci. But I like the frame. It will be good to get more metallic gold parts.
@CliveyB said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @SDlgo9 said:
"But the important question is, during the build do the first pieces that go on make up the words THIS IS A FAKE ?"
It had better! Everyone knows the original Mona Lisa was destroyed by fire in 1979, along with five copies also by Da Vinci's hand. This is the seventh, and last remaining version that was saved by the Doctor from the inferno caused by the alien Scaroth!
(as seen in 'City of Death', a 4th Doctor serial from 1979) "
Came here for this - happy the comment was made! (Don't forget the painting came to life in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures')"
I really wanted to work that into my comment, but figured it was gonna confuse the people who've never seen Sarah Jane Adventures. (Which, for those reading, if you've never seen this spin-off - you should!)
I know la Joconde well as I went to see her many times at the Louvre when I was living in Paris. But this Lego portrait is nothing like her, it is just ugly... what a shame!
@ra226 said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Challenge: let's see a Lego Michaelangelo's David.
(Whistles, walks away)"
It should come with a black 2x4 tile. (Or the more traditional fig leaf)"
A 1x1 tile will do the job.
Might pick this up on sale for all those shiny gold parts!
At $100 with that many drum-lacquered parts, will it become more noticeable moving forward when sets that deserve them do not get them?
Almost completely fails to capture the original... it's cartoonesque. I'm sure there's a target audience for it, and I'm happy for those who enjoy it, but I'll pass. The weird thing is there are quite a few iconic abstract paintings that would PERFECTLY fit the bill and these are yet to appear... (eg. works by Mondriaan, to name but one)
I think Mona Lisa is almost cracking a smile because she's generated more responses than any 1 of the last 9 Star Wars articles. She deserves to be rightly proud!
After a day I’m still trying to un-see this. Marketing the set should be a round on the next series of The Apprentice.
The designer has done an amazing job--reimagining something I think was a very poor choice of subject. Not too surprisingly, the face isn't the right shape and many of the details don't really match those of the portrait. The background entirely lacks the many trees and plants in the original landscape. Furthermore, the painting is emphatically flat, so I find the three-dimensional nature of the Lego version (though in many respects the most ingenious part of the design) inappropriate.
The elegant frame is more successful than the rendition of the painting, and if it's really done in drum-lacquered gold (or even just with drum-lacquered gold highlights) I'm sure many people will buy the set just for those parts. As for the set as a whole, I do feel Milan Madge achieved something remarkable and praiseworthy--as a reinterpretation of a classic theme. But I don't see myself buying the set. If I change my mind about buying it later, I'm sure I'll make a lot of small but significant changes to it, especially in the landscape.
@nushae: Now I'm imagining some of Mondrian's works done in a more 3D style, as the Art line does now, and I think I might buy something like that.
@Darth_Dee said:
"It looks like Ted from Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure!"
Most non-triumphant.
I think Starry Night wasn't as necessary an addition as this, despite being first to be released.
On the other hand, Starry Night was way better (and had even had a Van Gogh minifig)!
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest people to have lived, and doesn't even get a minifig...
The face is an abomination! What were they thinking??? It must be possible to do it better than that!
The frame looks great, and I imagine as a parts pack this would be quite good, but I couldn't hang this on the wall.
I like it better than the cat. But with all these sets over-flooding the market, my wallet cannot keep pace with all of them :)