Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992)

I love this movie so much

Absolutely brilliant

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One can say that this movie is pretty as picture. 'Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase' is wonderful short animation off 35 iconic art pieces melting and morphing into each other. Beautiful form of 2D clay animation (or clay painting) and wonderful music turns this short film into much more than just a collage and can definitely be appreciated even when you are not much of an art specialist. Just a beautiful movie. An art piece about art.This short can also be used a sort of a game - how many paintings can you name?

"Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase" is a 7-minute animated short film from over 20 years ago by Joan C. Gratz that won an Academy Award and a couple more honors all over the planet. It basically includes many famous painting, so if you are interested in the world of art, you will maybe like this one even more. However, I must say, I was not too impressed as a whole. Yes it was a creative idea and the style was nice as well, but in terms of story, it felt fairly empty to me and it got repetitive at some point as it's basically just a collection of known painting, no interactions, no dramatic tension, nothing. Cannot say I am too surprised that this is still Gratz' most known work as, apart from a solid idea, I see no huge talent in here. Not recommended.

What a wonderful and beautifully made short. Personally, I couldn't think in any better tribute to the great masterpieces of art from different ages (Referencing several classic paintings, but also some works of modern art, and there is even a brief reference to comic books) than this, resulting in one of the most incredibly and fascinating animations ever made. This is absolutely beautiful, being a magnificent homage of the timeless artistic creations from different eras and places.A must see for everyone, not only the animation fans.The Academy Award was more than well deserved.

This short film won an Academy Award for best animated short. It consists of a series of animated reproductions of major art works, primarily from the 20th century, and has an unusual technique for moving from one picture to another. I have been to most of the world's major art galleries. While I am certainly not an art historian, I was able to recognize a majority of the artists and the works portrayed. I was not able to recognize all of them, and I wish they had been labeled.I recommend this film to anyone studying art or art history for a different twist on the subject matter. The movie is available on VHS from pyramid media, and it is overpriced.