The Mona Lisa

Day 220 / 365

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 1500s. He painted this for an Italian Nobleman. But what makes this painting so great?

It took him a long time to paint it

Leonardo Da Vinci worked on this painting for more than 4 years. And the reason it took so long is that he used a painting technique called sfumato (which is Italian for smoke). This method involves putting one layer of paint, then allowing it to dry and then putting the next layer. This process is repeated hundreds of times. It’s a long-forgotten method and very few were able to master it.

The eyes that follow you

Mona Lisa’s eyes are painted in such a way that it creates an optical illusion. They seem to stare directly at you, even if you are not straight in front of it.

He painted two of these

Not a lot of people know but Leonardo Da Vinci actually painted two of these paintings. It’s not known why he did this, but the best guess is that he painted the first one as a trial to practice the technique, so that he could perfect the final one.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Extrinsic Vs. Intrinsic Goals