LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa review
While Mona Lisa may not be as visually stunning as other LEGO adaptations of famous art, it is nonetheless a fitting interpretation of da Vinci’s masterpiece with plenty for LEGO Art fans to enjoy.
LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa has drawn some ridicule for its less-than-perfect printed face, but the good news is that the set looks a lot more impressive in person than in photos. The detail of the background, the clever parts usage that go into crafting Mona Lisa’s hands and hair, and the intricate frame make this set an enjoyable build that’s well worth hanging on a wall.
Release: October 1, 2024 Price: £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 Pieces: 1,503 Minifigures: 0 LEGO: Order now
The difficulty of adaptation
Following the successes of 21333 Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night and 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave, it was inevitable that the LEGO Art theme would provide additional sets based on iconic works of art. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci was an obvious choice, simply because of just how famous this work is. Few other pieces can match the Mona Lisa’s perpetual relevance within popular culture; simply put, there is no more recognisable piece of art in all the world.
The challenge, which is immediately apparent to anyone who even glances at 31213 Mona Lisa, is that the precise feature that makes the original painting so iconic is the one thing LEGO struggles to capture: subtlety. The ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ is the stuff of legend; da Vinci’s incredibly detailed portrayal of an ambiguous facial expression has endured the test of time because it is so delicate, so guarded, so difficult to pin down and explain.
LEGO does not manage nuance with any degree of ease. As an artistic medium, these plastic bricks, even in their smallest form, are more suited to large, over-the-top gestures than thin lines and ambiguity. In order to capture the dabbled brush strokes of impressionism, 21333 Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night makes use of multiple printed elements, as bricks simply can’t be used to provide the level of detail needed for a painting.
Here, again, printed tiles are used for 31213 Mona Lisa’s iconic smile and guarded eyes, to somewhat less success. The facial expression on the set attempts to capture the original painting’s nuance, but these prints understandably can’t quite get it right. This is hardly a surprise, as trying to recreate the Mona Lisa Smile in LEGO form would be like trying to paint a copy using a sledgehammer instead of a paintbrush.
Even so, the face on 31213 Mona Lisa does end up feeling a little like the heavily memed ‘Potato Jesus’ fresco renovation, and it’s clear that even the LEGO designers appreciate that these printed elements may not be to everybody’s taste – the instructions explain how, if the builder so chooses, they may use blank elements instead to simply avoid the issue of Mona Lisa’s face altogether.
This is a welcome inclusion, as it will hopefully make the set feel a little more enjoyable for those who aren’t thrilled with the particular way the LEGO designers have attempted to adapt da Vinci.
You’ve been framed
It’s worth noting that 31213 Mona Lisa, despite costing the same as 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave, is a significantly smaller build. The set contains 300 fewer elements than the Great Wave, and is significantly smaller when finished. Where, then, is all the extra money going in this set? It’s likely that the liberal use of drum-lacquered gold elements for the frame has had a significant impact on the set’s cost.
In fairness, the frame does look delightful. Where previous LEGO Art frames have all been fairly barebones – so as not to distract from the works of art themselves – the ornate golden frame is a large part of making 31213 Mona Lisa feel like a majestic display piece.
Building the frame is actually the first part of the model, in contrast to several previous LEGO Art sets, and it’s a nice way of approaching things. Getting to play with so much gold makes for a strong early start, and getting most of the set’s repetition out of the way early means that all of the most interesting building techniques are saved for the last few bags.
In practice, this is a rare LEGO set that gets more interesting the longer the build goes on, as more and more detail is added to the picture while the frame sits unused to the side until right at the end of the process.
A colourful rendition
As with 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave, the LEGO designers behind 31213 Mona Lisa have opted not to present this set in colours that match the original painting’s modern appearance, and instead have based it on the colours that the painting would have displayed when it was new.
This is a mercifully smart move, as the centuries have taken their toll on Mona Lisa, and what was once a more vibrant portrait has now been reduced to various shades of brown. The LEGO colour palette may have made a good stab at a mostly brown and tan painting, but the result would not have been particularly pleasing on the eye.
What’s interesting is how, even though brighter colours have been chosen for the painting – most notably the Light Aqua sky – many of these colours feel a little more muted by being stacked together. This is a testament to how well the colours were chosen, but also means that looking at a photo of the set, it’s difficult to appreciate just how pretty the landscape behind Mona Lisa really is.
This is further influenced by all that drum-lacquered gold around the edge of the set, which casts a reflection. Whether or not the intention was to create a more vibrant rendition of the Mona Lisa, the resulting set ends up feeling slightly washed-out and sepia-toned regardless. In practice, this means that the set needs to be seen to be believed, as it does look more interesting up close and in person than it does in photographs – something that is often said of the real Mona Lisa as well.
Thus, while this set is far from perfect, it’s hard to argue that the LEGO Group could have produced a more fitting adaptation of one of history’s most famous works of art.
This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.
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Our honest opinion: While definitely not the most eye-catching LEGO adaptation of a famous work of art, and though it lacks the subtlety of its source material, Mona Lisa is nevertheless a solid and enjoyable interpretation of da Vinci’s legendary artwork.
How long does it take to build LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa?
LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa takes around two and a half hours to build. It comes with a documentary podcast that can be listened to while building.
How many pieces are in LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa?
LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa contains 1,503 pieces. Several of these elements are medium-sized baseplates, and many have a drum-lacquered gold coating.
How big is LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa?
LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa measures 43cm tall, 30cm wide and 4cm deep. This is approximately the same size as some previous LEGO recreations of famous art.
How much does LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa cost?
LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa costs £89.99 in the UK, $99.99 in the US and €99.99 in the EU. This is the same price as 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave.
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- When I was a kid, my bus ride home from school featured a daily stop at LEGOLAND Windsor. The bus drove all the way up to the front gate, let eager tourists on and off, then drove back out of the park and on its merry way. Maybe if I’d got on a different bus every afternoon I’d have ended up with a proper job, but then, there’s no way of knowing for sure.
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