The Portrait of Lisa Gheradini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is an oil painting. Leonardo da Vinci uses ombre and compositional arrangement while painting the Mona Lisa. One technique used by Da Vinci in his artwork was focus and blur. The shadow is used at the bottom of the painting, at the edges and in the background to blur the background of the image. Use this technique to draw attention to facial details. Da Vinci also uses perspective in his paintings to create an illusion of depth, to make some objects appear smaller and less detailed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIf you look closely at Mona Lisa's face you can notice the soft transitions between the light and darker tones, this technique enhances the piece. The “mysterious smile” makes this piece so special, because it is open to interpretation. It's a smile that definitely doesn't tell us about his feelings, it's ambiguous. Every viewer has a different theory about the meaning of this mysterious smile. Da Vinci creates this smile using perspective and shadow, the eyes are the focal point and the mouth is the periphery. If the light enters directly through the eye you see details, but if it comes through the corner of the eye you see shapes, shadows and colors, this is another technique used by Da Vinici. If you look at her directly the smile is different, if you look at her in profile. The method used by the painter was called the “Mona Lisa Effect”. In 1911 the painting was stolen by the Italian Vincenzo Perucigo. After 28 months the kidnapper wanted to sell the painting to an art dealer in Florence. Perucigo was immediately arrested and the painting was returned to the Louvre. After the crime people from all over the world want to see the masterpiece created by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting influenced numerous painters and artists. The Mona Lisa has been recreated several times by other artists, which indicates that this piece is so significant. Only the elite could afford to be painted during the Renaissance. It was an expensive proposition. Portraits were so expensive that they were reserved only for the nobility. That a wealthy merchant hired Leonardo to paint his wife's portrait is reminiscent of the fortunes amassed by merchants, bankers and others in the Renaissance. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay I selected this piece because it is the most famous work of art in the world, the techniques and skills used by the artists are fascinating.