rate, but not as much as the Last Supper had. It is easily seen that most of the background of the painting has been painted over, but some parts of the masterpiece are still recognizable. (15) Even so the painting is still a masterpiece, and a piece of art that is renown and envied by many artists. This painting also took two years to complete, as did most of his great works. As was said by Vasari, “Her smile is more divine than human.”(16) It was believed that Leonardo hired musicians, jesters, and others to always keep the smile, for the painting to be truly magnificent. The expression captured in her face was described as the ‘eternal womanhood’ (15), which is expertly described in the quote on the page before. The way she was positioned was unusual for Leonardo also. It was different than all his works in his recent genre. The subject is seen at half-length, seated, slightly turned, gazing towards the spectator. The background isn’t a darkness where it stands out like the others, but a beautiful landscape. (16) As one person said, “Unreal and dreamlike, and yet precise as a map… steeped in dampness and dissolved mists.” (17) Ottino Della Chisea The charm of this woman, and the smile and romance that she spreads to all her viewers is unreal and enchanting. The background blending with the beauty of the subject mesmerizes anyone to look at the painting, which makes this painting all too well known. It is now known as the most famous painting in the world.(18) Leonardo therefore overcomes the dilemma between the idea and its realization, because he places the painting at the service of his conceptual meditations, and painting is at once an expressing and visualizing medium.(19)The horse that Leonardo did for Duke Lodovico was another impressive work of art, but maybe not as famous. Even though the sculpture was never finished, it is still admired as an amazing piece of artistic ab...
