A masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa, presents a mixture of elements and principles of art, used to contribute to its timeless look. The Mona Lisa painting is a portrait from the Renaissance art era painted in oil on a poplar wood panel. It was painted in a style called sfumato, which means smoke in Italian. The Mona Lisa was painted by the famous artistic name Leonardo da Vinci. She is called La Giocondo because she was believed to be the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The Mona Lisa was painted in Florence, Italy between 1503 and 1519. The Mona Lisa can be considered one of the most famous paintings in the world. The Mona Lisa is on display in Paris, France, at the Louvre Museum. The Mona Lisa belongs to the public and “the painting cannot be bought or sold according to French heritage law” (“The Mona Lisa”). The table is relatively small. The original size of the painting is 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 ⅞ in). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The Mona Lisa is one of the best works of art in the world. This is one of the paintings that people all over the world are looking for. It has always been recognized as a good work of art, but it was not until 1911 that it gained worldwide fame. The painting was stolen from the Louvre Museum in France in 1911. It disappeared for more than two years. During the period it was stolen, the painting gained most of its popularity. Some estimate that the painting is worth around $850 million today, even though it cannot be bought or sold (“How Much Is?”). But what makes this work of art such a masterpiece? This article will analyze and evaluate aspects of this famous painting. Elements and Principles of this Masterpiece This article covers two basic design principles and design elements. The chosen design elements are value and space. The two design principles chosen are balance and emphasis. The definition of value is the amount of darkness or lightness used in the painting. The Mona Lisa can be described by a tram called chiaroscuro, which mainly has darker colors, however, the background and face use lighter colors. It's interesting to note that most of the dark colors are towards the bottom of the painting and the lighter colors, besides her hair, are towards the top of the painting. The use of darker colors also makes Mona Lisa's face appear to glow and stand out from the rest of the painting. Aerial perspective is also used because the foreground stands out much more than the background. This perspective is demonstrated by blurring the background a little so that it appears much further away than the woman. This painting is symmetrically balanced. The woman's weight is equal on both sides of the table. She is in the middle of the painting, and also “there is a balance created because we see equal amounts of face on either side of the nose” (Boddy-Evans). We also notice that a balance is created since the space between his head and shoulders is equal. It is easy to notice that Leonardo da Vinci wants all of the viewer's attention to be directly on the woman and does not include any other elements in the painting to distract the viewer's attention. The woman is almost perfectly aligned in the middle of the painting. Even his hands are close to the middle. All these features make the painting symmetrically balanced and the main focus is on all aspects of the woman. The Mona Lisa has been considered a great work of art. Leonardo da Vinci was able to create a masterpiece. It is considered..