When I first look at the 'Mona Lisa', I notice the intriguing look that is on her face. The expression

The painting is Oil on a poplar wood panel. This was Da Vinci’s main style. It may have helped to create the Sfumato technique. The size of the painting is 77cm x 53cm, this is quite a small size for such a great painting. Da Vinci may have done this to make it look more lifelike so the beholder could relate to it and think of the Mona Lisa as equal to themselves. If the picture was too big, it would belittle the beholder and make them feel uneasy, and if it was too small, Da Vinci would not have been able to add such detail. The background of the Mona Lisa is an early example of aerial perspective. Da Vinci uses aerial perspective to add depth to the painting. Leonardo da Vinci was a very keen scientist and regularly dissected human bodies to aid his art work and overall knowledge of the human body. This is evident in his work, e.g. if you look closely at the Mona Lisa’s hands you realise how lifelike they are.

The artist, Leonardo da Vinci, painted the Mona Lisa while in Florence from 1503 to 1506. Da Vinci uses a technique known as Sfumato to make the Mona Lisa’s expression look like it is changing.

Sfumato - In , the  of blurring or softening sharp  by subtle and gradual  () of one  into another. The smoke like haziness of this effect slightly lessens the  that a still  is entirely still, instead lending a vague sense of . Da Vinci’s most prominent use of Sfumato is in the corner of the Mona Lisa’s mouth and the corner of her eyes. He deliberately merged the corners of the eyes and mouth into a shadow because he discovered that you must leave the beholder something to guess. If you don’t draw the outlines so firmly and you leave them a little vague, as though disappearing into shadow, the impression of dryness and stiffness will be avoided.

This explains why we are never quite certain in what mood Mona Lisa is looking at us. Her expression always seems to elude us.

Some people have come to the conclusion that the Mona Lisa was actually a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci as a woman. Also it has been said that it could be his mother in the painting, or even a fusion of the two! If this is true, it would show even more skill from Da Vinci, as it would show his expert knowledge of the human body and the especially the construction of the human skull.