# What is the Mona Lisa of photographs?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 15, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620 "2001-11-15T22:24:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@timothy98765](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timothy98765)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/21 "2001-11-16T03:57:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by timothy98765 \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by timothy98765 \*
> > \*\*
> >
> > > [@](#):
> > >
> > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \*
> > > \*\*Or the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. \*\*
> >
> > How about raising of the flag over the Reichstag? \*\*
>
> Here it is
> [http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/5810/khal\_01.jpg](http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/5810/khal_01.jpg) \*\*
Just copy the link and paste it into your browser. For some reason it doesn’t work if you click on it.
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### Author:  [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/22 "2001-11-16T04:57:04Z")
It’s amazingly _hard_ to compare the two art forms, even though they deal with the same subjects, light, perception, etc. Probably what’s missing is time depth. Human perception hasn’t changed but the access and _use_ of images sure has.
For character/portrait studies: the series of Lincoln portraits–though that may be near-history conveying nuances that the images themselves won’t convey a few centuries down the road. That’s the problem: with enough time blurring circumstances will the face/portrayal still convey something lasting? I just can’t call that one.
In another vein I recall a photo–Atget?–of fisherwomen animatedly gesturing on a seashore with a ship skeleton and gulls flapping overhead. It was the chilly, sea-washed world outside the windows Vermeer painted. Timeless and perfect.
I’m muddling along but two images of war coincide. One–“Condottiore”?–is an obscure portrait of a beautiful, hopelessly damaged soldier-for-hire. (Still trying to find a link to it; visual memory ain’t searchable.) He has a young face with the deadest, emptiest eyes imaginable. And all done in paint.
The photographic equivalent–Life?? WWII, female photographer, remember that–shows the body of a young German soldier lying in a water-filled ditch. Light, sky, glistening water with a young man refracting the whole mess outta whack: visually perfect and perfectly evil.
BTW, I’m not discounting heroism or courage in ANY age by mentioning these. These aren’t political comments in any way, and shouldn’t be taken that way.
Veb
Oh, POOP! After all that dubious eloquence I forgot the “two-fer”. This a bona fide arty thread and really belongs in **Cafe Society**. So…uh…😊: if anyone’s still awake after that self-indulgent rambling, this sucker’s _movin’_.
[Edited by TVeblen on 11-15-2001 at 11:02 PM]
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/23 "2001-11-16T05:19:55Z")
As for military-patriotic photos, it’s very much a cultural-based thing. For instance, the Israeli equivalet of the Iwo Jima pic is [this](http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0003/arm01.htm) one by David Rubinger, often referred to as “the weeping paratrooper”. Geopolitics aside, it’s a powerful image.
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### Author:  [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/24 "2001-11-16T07:30:47Z")
I read an article or saw a documentary, can’t remember which, about Dorathea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” that said it was one of the most reprinted images of all time. It held the record for something or other.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/25 "2001-11-16T07:49:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Stoid \*
> \*\*I read an article or saw a documentary, can’t remember which, about Dorathea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” that said it was one of the most reprinted images of all time. It held the record for something or other. \*\*
This [site](http://www.berkeley.edu/lange/berkeley.html) has Dorothea Lange’s tale of the photo. The first time I saw the image I thought it was one of Mary Ellen Mark’s Appalachian photos. So between them and Margaret Bourke White women sure do photo journalistic portraits brilliantly.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/26 "2001-11-16T10:52:40Z")
I have never seen most of the pics you are citing.
Yes, I’ve seen the Moon Flag, Iwo Jima, Nat Geo green eyed girl, and a couple of others, but have never seen nor heard of ‘Migran Mother’ before today, so that is not the right direction to go, I don’t think.
Iconic images, that’s the key, they have to symbolise something as well as be repeatedly on display.
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### Author:  [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/27 "2001-11-16T11:14:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Earthling \*
> **But, to get back to the OP, if we restrict our choices to what most people recognize as “fine art photography,” (no, I don’t want to get into a discussion of what art is now), then I’d nominate Ansel Adams’s _[Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico](http://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/adams/adams_moonrise_full.html)_. Famous photographer, famous image.**
And (as if a further reason was needed) the [most expensive photograph](http://www.arklo.com/st1sem8.htm#anseladams) ever sold by a living photographer…
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### Author:  [@Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bedrosian_Bixby)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/28 "2001-11-16T14:01:50Z")
[http://www.stjohnsprep.org/htdocs/sjp\_soc/kareng/bartlett/pics.htm](http://www.stjohnsprep.org/htdocs/sjp_soc/kareng/bartlett/pics.htm)
This probably doesn’t count, but the image of the terrorists that killed the Isreali athletes at the Olympics is just a terrifying picture. It’s just a shot of one with a ski mask. Sends shivers down my spine.
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### Author:  [@moodtobestewed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moodtobestewed)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/29 "2001-11-16T14:52:50Z")
A contender?
[http://www.tw-zone.com/cosmo/photoshop/pix/oswaldoriginal.jpg](http://www.tw-zone.com/cosmo/photoshop/pix/oswaldoriginal.jpg)
Here are two others that I think most people in the US would recognize:
> **[The Most Iconic Photographs of All Time - LIFE](https://www.life.com/)**
>
> Experience LIFE's visual record of the 20th century by exploring the most iconic photographs from one of the most famous private photo collections in the world.
[http://www.salpiconpress.com/salpicon/graffiti/nguyengoc.html](http://www.salpiconpress.com/salpicon/graffiti/nguyengoc.html)
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### Author:  [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/30 "2001-11-16T15:39:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Earthling \*
> \*\*BTW, the wild-eyed National Geographic lady is an Afghan refugee, which is probably why they re-ran that photo. It’s probably photographer Steve McCurry’s [signature image](http://www.stevemccurry.com/gallery/sse/sse3.html). \*\*
She has got the most gorgeous eyes on the planet. Please tell me they were not enhanced in the lab.
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### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/31 "2001-11-16T17:03:39Z")
I don’t know if it’s _the_ photo version of the Mona Lisa, but dammit, someone needs to mention “Doc” Edgerton. Talk about the ability to find beauty in everyday things.
His most famous is the [Milk Drop Corona](http://www.agallery.com/edgerton.html), but some of his others (the nuke going off, the bullet through an apple, a stunning one of a hummingbird in flight…) Most of his pictures seem to have been removed from the Web, but he’s an unsung great.
Fenris
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### Author:  [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/32 "2001-11-16T17:08:58Z")
There’s also a famous photo of a little black girl going into a formerly segrated school, surrounded by guards of some kind. Very powerful.
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### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/33 "2001-11-16T17:40:06Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by D18 \*
> She has got the most gorgeous eyes on the planet. Please tell me they were not enhanced in the lab.
I agree. She is a very beautiful woman. And they are enchanting eyes… I too hope they weren’t retouched. How would one even find out, though? Could a retouched photo count in this competition? I wouldn’t think so.
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### Author:  [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/34 "2001-11-16T18:30:21Z")
How about the [Hindenburg](http://www.afn.org/~afn42211/genealog/sterner/hindenburg/hindnbg3.gif) burning over Lakehurst, New Jersey, 1937? Sorry about the crappy photo. It’s the best I could find in a quick search.
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### Author:  [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/35 "2001-11-16T18:48:03Z")
_She has got the most gorgeous eyes on the planet. Please tell me they were not enhanced in the lab._
Hear! Hear!
Even before the recent conflict in Afghanistan, I had often wondered if that woman was still alive.
RR
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### Author:  [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/36 "2001-11-16T19:22:14Z")
We’ll probably never know what happened to her. And the photo is unretouched.
> [@](#):
>
> That was also the only time he saw this nameless face, despite numerous efforts to relocate her after the camp she stayed in was evacuated.
>
> Since then, this raw, untouched image has been used on rugs and tattoos, making it one of the most widely reproduced photos in the world, McCurry says.
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/multi1\_interview.html](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/multi1_interview.html)
[http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/v04/msg06423.html](http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/v04/msg06423.html)
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### Author:  [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/37 "2001-11-16T19:45:54Z")
I’ve seen most of the photographs in this thread, and I would be hard-pressed to pick the “Mona Lisa of Photos” from them. Consider, though, that we’ve had almost 500 hundred years for the Mona Lisa to rise to the top, while the art of photography has only enjoyed wide-spread popularity for a little more than 100 (yes, I know photography has been around for considerably more time than that, but I think only in the 20th century did photographic images become to be known throughout the world).
But, I’ll go ahead and vote for this [one](http://www.pathfinder.com/photo/gallery/arts/life/cap03.htm), not because I believe it fits the category, but just because I like it so much.
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### Author:  [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/38 "2001-11-16T19:52:10Z")
I’m a tad surprised that nobody has mentioned any of the Sports Illustrated photos. You know the ones of which I speak. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/39 "2001-11-16T21:01:59Z")
I really like the question posed in the OP, although I’m not sure if I can contribute much of use (except for the Joe Anybody take on things). FWIW, I had never seen the Afghani woman before reading this thread, and I am surprised no one has mentioned the [Kent State](http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/views/y/2000/04/tuchman.kentstate.may4/) shooting or the [Tiananmen Square](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/newsweek/tiananmen.htm) tank-stopping guy.[sup]1[/sup] Caveats, of course, for the Kent State photograph being mostly known to Americans and the Chinese photograph not seen much in the PRC. These two photographs were probably the 2nd and 3rd to come to my mind, after the Vietnamese girl.
Most photos mentioned are powerful images of news events and not very Mona Lisaesque (which is okay with the rules in the OP). I can’t come up with a staged, studio kind of photograph that applies, especially when ruling out photos of the already famous. Edgerton’s Milk Drop Corona is my favorite suggestion so far, if that sort of criteria is applied.
[sub][sup] **Fenris** : great reference! I did my first high school speech on the (now-)late, great Harold Edgerton, although I do not hold the traumatic experience against him. By dropping his name you’ve made me an even bigger fan.[/sup][/sub]
[sup]1 [/sup]Oops! Gotta read more carefully. Caught **Dragon Phoenix** ’s mention of this one on preview.
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### Author:  [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mona-lisa-of-photographs/93620/40 "2001-11-16T21:35:51Z")
An utterly _blatant_ hijack here as a P.S. The most compelling photography-as-art shot that I have ever seen was a _Philadelphia Citypaper_ (a _Chicago Reader_-style weekly) photography contest winner. You can sort of see it [here](http://citypaper.net/articles/021199/coverstory.shtml), although viewing it online does not do it justice because so much of its beauty is in it’s incredible detail. Damn, never should have thrown that newspaper out. Okay, end of hijack.
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