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Mona Lisa And Da Vinci's Lady With A Unicorn

Decent Essays

Raphael used Leonardo da Vinci’s image of the Mona Lisa as the basis for the woman in his portrait “Lady with a Unicorn”, but while Raphael’s successful attempt at imitating da Vinci’s technique and style is noticeable, Raphael’s “Lady with a Unicorn” and da Vinci’s Louvre “Mona Lisa” demonstrate the difference between the artist’s style. Leonardo da Vinci used an artistic style while painting known as sfumato, which is “the technique of allowing tones and colors to shade gradually into one another, producing softened outlines or hazy forms.” The painting consists of a variety of very muted colors, but the skillful sfumato technique used by da Vinci enhances these muted colors and contributes greatly to the realistic look of the painting. Da Vinci divides the The Louvre “Mona Lisa” into two separate sections, and each section contains its own unique style and meaning that plays a large role in conveying the painting’s overall theme. The first section is the woman herself. Da Vinci’s mastery of sfumato is demonstrated in the detailed contouring of the face, and is especially visible around the eyes and the mouth. This mastery of sfumato is used on this area as an attempt to emphasize the importance of every detailed facial feature. This precision and skill gives the Louvre “Mona Lisa” it’s realistic and almost eerie lifelike look. The posture chosen by da Vinci was also specifically designed. She sits at an angle with her left arm comfortably resting on the armchair while

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