... the gloomy fog all add to the mystery. It is as if the background is right out of a fantasy story. Another weird thing that the background does is makes the beholder unsure on which time of day it is in the picture. The painting is Oil on a poplar wood panel. This was Da Vinci's main style. It may have helped to create the Sfumato technique. The size of the painting is 77cm x 53cm, this is quite a small size for such a great painting. Da Vinci may have done this to make it look more lifelike so the beholder could relate to it and think of the Mona Lisa as equal to themselves. If the picture was too big, it would belittle the beholder and make them feel uneasy, and if it was too small, Da Vinci would not have been able to add such detail. The background ...

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