The Mona Lisa is often cited for the technique known as what?

• A. Sfumato
• B. Fresco
• C. Impasto
• D. Pointillism

Answer: (A)

Sfumato is a painting technique that creates soft, seamless transitions between colors and tones, producing a smoky, lifelike atmosphere. In the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci uses very fine glazes and delicate, almost invisible brushwork to blur the edges of the face, hands, and background. This lack of hard outlines makes light seem to diffuse gently across her skin, giving the sitter’s subtle, changing expression a mysterious quality. Sfumato relies on the slow, layered use of oil paints to build gradual tonal shifts, which is why it’s so associated with Leonardo and this work. By contrast, fresco involves painting on wet plaster, impasto uses thick texture, and pointillism builds color from tiny dots; none achieve the same soft, blended depth that sfumato achieves in this painting.