Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine Artist, one of the great masters of the High Renaissance, celebrated as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His profound love of knowledge and research was the keynote of both his artistic and scientific endeavors. His innovations in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for more then a century after his death, and his scientific studies- particularly in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics- anticipated many of the developments of modern science.
The Mona Lisa, Leonardos most famous work, is as well known for its mastery of technical innovations as for the mysteriousness of its legendary smiling subject. This work is a consummate example of two techniques-sfumato and chiaroscuro- of which Leonardo was one of the first great masters. Sfumato is characterized as almost by subtle, almost infinitesimal transitions between color areas, creating a delicately atmospheric haze of smoky effect; it is especially evident from the delicate gauzy robes worn by the sitter and in her enigmatic smile. Chiaroscuro is the technique of modeling and defining forms through contrast of light and shadow; the sensitive hands of the sitter are portrayed with a luminous modulation of light and shade, while color contrast is used only sparingly.
The Mona Lisa is an outdated portrait that is less revered as it was in the past. Even though it is the most valuable of all paintings, we think another painting should take the place of the Mona Lisa as the best painting of all. The Mona Lisa still deserves its fame, and can be put in the top paintings.