Aesthetic Response to the Mona

Aesthetic Response to the Mona Lisa

As one of the most famous paintings of all time -- arguably the most famous painting -- it is difficult to form an aesthetic opinion of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa that is uninfluenced by outside opinions. I have always found her famous smile to be very engaging, and the perspective and focus of the painting both direct the viewer's eye there. The muted tones of the painting also call attention to the face, which has by far the lightest value of anything in the painting. All in all, the shrouded and mysterious figure of this woman is made intriguing by da Vinci's use of shadow, which creates a feel of roundness and texture to the actual figure which is lacking in the rest of the painting due to the complete absence of foreshortening.

According to Nicolas Pioch, an art scholar with ibiblio.org, the paintings fame began almost as soon as it was completed. Though no one knows for certain who the portrait is of or why it was painted, da Vinci carried the portrait around with him for many years due to his own admiration of the work, or at least so Pioch maintains. Pioch also comments on the delicate and gradual blending and dissolving of the painting's colors and figures, which da Vinci achieved with the sfumato technique.