Mona lisa why so famous

Appears in countless advertisements has inspired poetry sculpture forgeries and theft but seriously why the painting is small only 30 by 21 inches the color is somber the background seems desolate and eerie and the subject isn't anyone historically significant so what's all the brouhaha about is it all about her mystifying gaze and a quirky smile well let's take a closer look the Vinci's greatest innovation here is the relaxed and informal 3/4 pose of the subject 'although' Mona Lisa's pose may seem commonplace and almost trivial today it was revolutionary in the early 16th century prior portraits were stiff and contrived and mainly consisted of profiles this pose established a new style of portrait painting that is still the de facto standard today over 500 years later the pyramidal composition of the portrait is also a or the vice innovation notice the wide base of the or the painting which appears heavier than the top Mona Lisa's hands from the front corner of the pyramid your eye is drawn to the top of the painting in that infamous enigmatic smile furthermore most portraits of the time were full-length da Vinci's more intimate cropping was immediately imitated by masters such as Raphael sir motto is Italian for blended with connotations of smoky Leonardo coined the term to explain his technique of layering translucent layers of color to create the appearance of depth volume and form the blending of colors become so subtle that the gradations are hardly perceptible the area around her eyes as well as her hair and her scarf have a semi-translucent smoky feel but give the painting a sense of movement the or the technique is also used in the background to create a sense of harmony between the sitter and the landscape keep in mind that this was a completely new technique that added a sense of realism that was utterly unparalleled in its time Leonardo's love of rocky landscapes as seen in several of his paintings of note here is how the two landscapes on either side of Mona Lisa's head is a physical impossibility the landscape on the left is noticeably lower than the landscape on the right, this is also one of the first portraits to use an imaginary landscape lastly the fact that the or the background becomes hazy her and more out-of-focus as distance increases was a or a breakthrough that added to the or the realism of the painting paintings of this time created equal levels of detail in the foreground and background most experts agree that overzealous cleaning removed the eyebrows which were added after the paint dried regardless of poor cleaning techniques caused the greenish hue of her skin tone however, Leonardo was known for more somber color palettes than his contemporaries da Vinci's extensive anatomical dissection up over 30 cadavers led to his incredibly accurate depiction of these delicate and beautiful hands these half circular forms are the basis of pillars on either side of an open large copied sketches by Raphael proved that part of the painting was lost when it was removed from its original frame who is she experts disagree 'but' she is most likely Madonna Lisa D Antonio Maria martin wife of wealthy Florentine Francesco del geocode who commissioned the painting in 1503 da Vinci probably never finished the commission as parts of the painting was likely painted as late as 1510 like many great portrait painters he probably walked a fine line between accurate representation and flattery perhaps he then began to infuse his views of ideal Beauty into the subject Leonardo never finished the Commission 'and' it is said that he traveled with the painting to show off his talents scientists cannot agree as to why Mona Lisa's smile is interpreted so differently by different people theories range from the nature of human vision to Sigmund Freud's interpretation of the smile signifying Leonardo's erotic attraction to his mother the mystery of the smile is what makes the painting so engaging this work introduced several revolutionary painting techniques displayed a supreme mastery of technique by its artists and continues to inspire intrigue in many who view if it is safe to say that Leonardo's masterpiece will likely remain as one of the greatest portraits of all time