Mona Lisa (1503-06) - Leonardo da Vinci - Painting analysis | Masterpieces in 3 min.

Mona Lisa - Leonardo da Vinci
Oil on poplar wood, 77 x 53 cm, Louvre Paris, ca. 1503-1506
The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous painting in the world. It was highly prized as soon as it was completed in the 16th century and has become increasingly popular over the last few centuries.
The painting shows a young woman on a terrace. She is sitting in a chair turned slightly to one side so that the woman is facing left. She has rested her left arm on the armrest, which is parallel to the picture plane. The slender fingers of her right hand gently clasp her left wrist.
Her head is turned towards the viewer, her eyes are squinting to the left, they seem to be looking at you permanently, at the same time giving the impression of a silver gaze. She arouses different reactions with her gaze, appearing both seductive and rejecting at the same time. Her androgynous face can be divided into two halves: Her right half is passive and serious, while her left side is actively smiling.
The Mona Lisa's mysterious smile is world-famous: there are even anecdotes from contemporary witnesses who report that da Vinci is said to have kept the model amused with musicians at the time, resulting in the infamous little smirk.
No eyebrows are visible on the woman's high forehead. However, it is unclear whether this is due to the ideal of beauty at the time or the fading color pigments.
Her dark hair is covered by a fine, almost transparent veil. Her dark dress falls out of the frame in light folds.
We get a view of the blurred landscape beyond the terrace. Here, da Vinci used his own developed painting technique, sfumato, which translates from Italian as "blurred" or "foggy". The brushstrokes become almost invisible, the objects appear to be enveloped in a foggy haze. This is noticeable in the mountains in the background as well as in the facial details such as the blurred corners of the eyes.
It is also noticeable in the background that the horizon line on the right is higher than on the left. The picture also has two vanishing points: One for the background and one for the foreground figure. The viewer immediately notices this trick by the artist: You do have the feeling that "something is wrong here".

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