Mona Lisa - Why so Famous.mp4 Watch the video about the painting "Mona Lisa" and fill in the blanks with the exact words you hear. The Mona Lisa is widely considered to be the greatest portrait of all time. It appears in countless advertisements, has (1)______________ poetry, sculptures, forgeries and theft.But seriously, why? The painting is small only 30 by 21 inches.The color issomber. The background seems desolate and eerie and the subject isn't anyonehistorically significant.So what's allthe brouhaha about? Is it really allabout her (2)______________gaze and a quirky smile?Well, let's take a closer look. Da Vinci's greatest innovation here isthe relaxed and informal 3/4 pose of thesubject.Although Mona Lisa's pose may seem (3)______________ and almost trivialtoday, it was revolutionary in the early16th century. Prior portraits were stiffand contrived and mainly consisted ofprofiles.This pose established a newstyle of portrait painting that is still the (4)______________ standard today over 500years later. The pyramidal composition ofthe portrait is also a DaVinciinnovation. Notice the wide base of thepainting which appears heavier than thetop. Mona Lisa's hands form the front corner of the (5)______________. Your eye is drawn to the top of the painting in thatinfamous enigmatic smile. Furthermore, most portraits of the time werefull-length. Da Vinci's more (6)______________ cropping was immediately imitated bymasters such as Raphael. Sfumato is Italian for blended with connotations ofsmoky. Leonardo (7)______________ the term to explain his technique of layeringtranslucent layers of color to createthe appearance of depth volume and form. The blending of colors become so subtlethat the gradations are hardly (8)______________. The area around her eyes aswell as her hair and her scarf have asemi-translucent smoky feel that give the painting a sense of movement. Thetechnique is also used in the backgroundto create a sense of harmony between thesitter and the landscape. Keep in mind that this was a completely new techniquethat added a sense of realism that was utterly (9)______________ in its time. Leonardo's love of rocky landscapes is seen in several of his paintings.Of notehere is how the two landscapes on eitherside of Mona Lisa's head are a physical (10)______________. The landscape on the left is noticeably lower than the landscapeon the right. This is also one of thefirst portraits to use an imaginarylandscape. Lastly the fact that thebackground becomes hazier and moreout-of-focus as distance increases was a major (11)______________ that added to therealism of the painting.Paintings ofthis time created equal levels of detail in the (12)______________ and background. Most experts agree that overzealous cleaningremoved the eyebrows which were added after the paint dried. Regardless, poorcleaning techniques definitely causedthe greenish hue of her skin tone. However, Leonardo was known for moresomber color palettes than his (13)______________. Da Vinci's extensiveanatomical dissections over 30cadavers led to his incredibly accuratedepiction of these delicate andbeautiful hands. These half circular forms are the basisof pillars on either side of an openloggia. Copied sketches by Raphael provedthat part of the painting was lost when it was (14)______________ its original frame. Who is she? Experts disagree but she is most likelyMadonnaLisa di Antonio Maria Gherardini, wife of wealthy Florentine Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned the paintingin 1503. Da Vinci probably never finished thecommission as parts of the painting werelikely painted as late as 1510. Like many great portrait painters, he probably walked a (15)______________ line between accurate (16)______________ and flattery. Perhaps he then began to infuse his own views ofideal beauty into the subject. Leonardo never finished the commissionand it is said that he traveled with the painting in order to (17)______________ his talents. Scientists cannot agree as to why Mona Lisa's smile is (18)______________ so differently by different people. Theories range from the nature of human vision toSigmund Freud's interpretation of the smile signifying Leonardo's erotic attraction to his mother. The mystery of the smile is what makes the painting so engaging. This work introduced several (19)______________ painting techniques, displayed a supreme mastery of techniqueby its artists and continues to inspireintrigue in many who view it.It is safeto say that Leonardo's (20)______________ will likely remain as one of the greatestportraits of all time.