Mona Lisa Research Paper

We live in an era that is saturated with pictures. Over the past thousands of years, the representation of portraits have changed drastically. If someone were to ask you to name a famous painting, what would you say? Some would say Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam while others might name a fancy modern-age painting. In fact, the most famous and revolutionary piece of art is the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. This piece of art is not only crowned to be the most recognized portrait, but also the most innovated piece. Although Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam is amongst one of the most famous pieces of art in history, what sets the Mona Lisa apart from any other art work, is that it created a new standard of painting that is still used today. First who is the famous Leonardo da Vinci? I assume everyone is at least familiar with the name. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, commonly called Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian

The pyramidal composition of the painting is also a Da Vinci innovation, notice the wide base of the painting which appears heavier than the top of the portrait. Mona Lisa’s hand forms the front corner of the pyramid, your eye is drawn to the top of the painting to Mona Lisa’s vibrant smile. This along with many other aspects of this painting is what makes this work of art by Leonardo da Vinci absolutely brilliant. “Sfumato” is Italian for blended, with connotations of smoky, Da Vinci used this smoky technique to create translucent layers of color, creating the appearance of dept, volume and form. Da Vinci used this technique his some of his later works, this helps give the portrait a more realistic look, sense of movement and gives the portrait more life-like as if it was captured by a camera. It was exceptional in that many famous artists incorporated this technique in their work soon after the Mona