Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world."

The painting's novel qualities include the subject's enigmatic expression, the delicate rendering of facial features, and the atmospheric landscape behind her, achieved through Leonardo's pioneering use of sfumato, a technique that blends colors and tones so subtly that they melt into one another without perceptible transitions. This creates a sense of depth and realism that was revolutionary for its time.