The Museum Louvre in Paris where the Mona Lisa painting rests has more than 380,000 art pieces. The pieces at display are 35,000. However, millions of the visitors to the museum have a preference of viewing Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa over the other paintings. The painting, also known as La Gioconda, is most famous for the woman’s smile. The eyes are also a point of interest and the identity of La Gioconda is another controversial topic that gave rise to many discussions over the years. The painting is globally significant because it incorporated sfumato, which is responsible for appearance of Mona Lisa’s smile. If the Mona Lisa painting was not present today, the world would not understand the full impact of the sfumato technique in as far as art is concerned. Sfumato is an Italian word which basically means smoky or vanished. When it is used in painting, it indicates that the painting is blurry or ambiguous. This leaves the audience to do its interpretation of the painting in question. The technique incorporates a blend of colors and tones in order to bring out the illusion of volume, depth and form. For it to work effectively, the technique incorporates the appearance of the human eye. The eye has two regions. These are the peripheral region and central, mainly identified as the fovea region. The peripheral part takes note of black and white, shadows and motion. The fovea identifies colors, details and fine print. When a viewer focuses on the painting, the foveae drive the viewer to focus on the eyes. The mouth area is left to the peripheral region. Since the peripheral region does not note details as it is less accurate, the shadows arising on the cheekbones supplement the mouth’s curvature. This is the same process that takes place when one looks at Mona Lisa painting. When one looks at the painting, the fovea is on the eyes and the periphery is on the mouth. The inaccurate peripheral vision allows the expansion of her smile through the shadows on her cheekbones. When one looks directly at the mouth, the fovea fails to notice the shadows. As a result, the portrait’s appearance is not a smiling one. For this reason, disappearance and appearance of the portrait’s smile is the attribute of vision of the audience. This painting’s characteristic explains its enigma in the world of art and its rank as one of the most famous paintings in the world, if not the most. Additionally, it is the best example of the sfumato technique’s use existing today. As noted, her eyes are another interesting feature making the painting more unique. The artist made the eyes in such a way that they seem to be looking at the viewer directly regardless of the viewer’s position. If the painting was not present, the world would not know the extent to which something as simple as a painting can manifest itself as though it was a living object. In 1852, a French artist by the name Luc Maspero committed suicide by jumping four floors to his death after spending many years figuring out the portrait’s smile. The suicide note left behind stated that he preferred death over identifying the smile’s mystery. Although his action was an extreme, it indicates that the painting has been a driving force for many artists over the years. The characteristics pertaining to the mouth and eyes continue to identify significance and effect of sfumato technique, as it encourages artists globally that a painting can become as real as the painter wishes it to be. It is a focal point for artists who feel that they need to incorporate this technique in their work. The article was written by professional writer - Lola Nickson, more her articles you can find simply following the link of https://papers-land.com/