Ethereal Site

Born Elijah Jordan Wood on Jan. 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, IA to parents Debbie and Warren, Wood began modeling as a youngster, and after being spotted by a Los Angeles-based talent agent, entered film with small parts in "Back to the Future II" (1989) and "Internal Affairs" (1990), in addition to several made-for-TV movies. Impressed by the child actor's ability, director Barry Levinson cast Wood as the grandson of Russian-Jewish immigrants growing up in mid-century Baltimore in his autobiographical family drama, "Avalon" (1990). The following year, he gave a heartwarming performance as a young boy who becomes the impetus for bringing an estranged married couple (Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) back together after the death of their child in "Paradise" (1991). Wood continued to hone his craft in the Richard Donner directed "Radio Flyer" (1992), the nostalgic story of two young boys who take refuge in a rich fantasy life as a means of escaping the physical and emotional abuse of their stepfather. The same year, the busy young thespian starred opposite Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis in the romantic drama "Forever Young" (1992), about a man revived after being cryogenically frozen for 50 years. Wood held his own against child star Macauley Culkin as an orphan sent to live with his Svengali-like cousin after the death of his parents in "The Good Son" (1993). On cable, he appeared as a child ghost haunting a Nazi concentration camp soldier (Gary Sinise) in the mini-movie, "The Witness" (Showtime, 1993), and landed the title role in the Disneyfied big screen adaptation of Twain's "The Adventures of Huck Finn" (1993). More prominent roles continued to come Wood's way, with films like "North" (1994), directed by Rob Reiner and boasting an all-star cast. The tale of a precocious boy who feels so unappreciated by his parents, that he deems himself a "free agent" and travels the world in search of the perfect mom and dad, "North" was a rare misfire for Reiner and was savaged by the critics. Receiving a slightly warmer welcome was the family drama "The War" (1994), starring Kevin Costner as a father recently returned from Vietnam. After a brief hiatus, Wood returned with the movie adaptation of the aquatic family adventure series "Flipper" (1996), opposite Paul Hogan. In "The Ice Storm" (1997), the critically lauded Ang Lee film that examined the interconnected lives of several people in an upper-class suburb in 1970s Connecticut, he played the troubled son of Sigourney Weaver. Wood followed up the next year with two more commercially friendly features. "The Faculty" (1998), directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Kevin Williamson, was a teen horror movie about a group of high school students who discover their teachers' bodies are being taken over by malicious aliens. Also that year, Wood appeared in the big-budget, apocalyptic blockbuster "Deep Impact" (1998), which recounted the days leading up to an asteroid's collision with earth. Two years later, he made an appearance in James Toback's flawed experimental drama "Black and White" (1999), a largely improvised examination of race relations in urban America.The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman, Lisa del Giocondo, whose facial expression has been frequently described as enigmatic. The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work. The image is widely recognised, caricatured, and sought out by visitors to the Louvre, and it is considered the most famous painting in the world.

Mona Lisa is named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting was commissioned for their new home and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea.The sitter's identity was ascertained at the University of Heidelberg in 2005 by a library expert who discovered a 1503 margin note written by Agostino Vespucci.