Elements Of The Mona Lisa

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Recommended: Italian Renaissance artists compared to northern Europeans

The Renaissance began in the late 14th century and reached its highest known point in the 15th and 16th centuries. This period followed the Middle Ages and made Europe see a revival of interest in classical learning along with values of ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance art sought to capture experiences of the individual rather than the many and also sought to capture the beauty of the regular world. It originated in Italy by Italian scholars and artists who wanted to reawaken the ideals of Roman culture. Some sought to reawaken the languages, values, and intellectual traditions of Rome. Unfortunately, during the time of the late 14th century, wars and the tragic Bubonic Plague kept people from making advances further into the Renaissance …show more content…

I find the color element to be the most prominent because of the well done contrasting of colors. The lightness of the model’s skin contrasts to the slightly darkened background to almost give her an otherworldly or angelic glow. The green in the background contrasts greatly with the russet brown of the mountain like trail that seems to be right behind the woman. Even her clothes show contrast because the sleeves are the same russet brown but the rest of her outfit is darker. Those darker colors make her skin tone seem lighter than normal and help to create that luminous or radiant color that seems to radiate from her. The principle that I think stands out the most is emphasis because while more emphasis is put on the model so she is the focal point, the background is also very interesting and not overshadowed by the model. Both of them complement each other with the contrasting light of the girl and the darker background. The viewer’s eyes will immediately go to the lighter section in the middle but will stray to the darker part because neither are forcefully dominating or fighting attention. The color contrast and light contrast aren’t at war with each other; rather they are more like two halves of a whole that perfectly fit each other in a way not commonly

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