Composition
The painting divides into three planes, unequal in importance and the space they occupy. First is the landscape in the background: it lends the image depth, as if letting it breathe, and counterbalances the protagonist; it itself divides into two complementing zones, the reddish terrestrial, and the bluish aquatic (and mountainous). The sky appears to combine the two tones, showing a blue azure touched with red and brown hues. Overall, the landscape creates a profound sense of harmony, matching the mystique of the lady with its own foggy atmosphere.
Mona Lisa herself comprises the second, and the primary, plane. Sitting in an upright position, with perhaps just a hint of tension in her neck and back, she as well can be compositionally deconstructed into two main areas: the upper, which includes the face and the chest, and the lower, which includes the arms and the hands. The third plane consists of a few vaguely visible, yet structurally important elements at the lower part of the panel: the armrest (or the seat-back), and the tentatively outlined balcony fence. These two parts delineate the immediate boundaries within which the figure rests.
The Face
La Gioconda’s face displays youth and maturity at the same time. The condition of her skin – its freshness can be discerned through the gauze of the sfumato (and 500 years of atmospheric effects) – reveals the former, whereas her confident pose and outlook attest to the latter. Notoriously, she lacks eyebrows and eyelashes.