The Mona Lisa has become one of the most famous, if not the most famous, painting in the world. The Mona Lisa is a renaissance portraiot of the wife of a wealthy Florentine cloth merchant named Lisa Gherardini. The title Mona Lisa translates to My Lady Lise. The Mona Lisa was the first portrait painitng with the sitter is shown facing the viewer instead of sitting in profile. It is also famous for the sfumato technique employed by DaVinci. Sfumato comes form the Italian word fumo which means smoke. In the Mona Lisa you can see the smokey blendiness that softens any hard outlines which brings the sitter to life. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre making headlines around the world and boosting its fame. Then there is the sitters ambiguous smile which has both captivative and confused countless viewers. Her subtle smile hides what she is feeling leaving it up to the viewers imagination and own interpretation of what Mona Lisa isfeeling.
