Which artist is associated with the Mona Lisa?

• A. Raphael
• B. Velázquez
• C. Da Vinci
• D. Botticelli

Answer: (C)

Leonardo da Vinci is the artist behind the Mona Lisa. This portrait, created in the early 1500s, showcases his signature sfumato technique—subtle, seamless transitions between light and shadow that give the sitter’s features a lifelike, nuanced quality, especially the enigmatic smile and gaze. The work, also known as La Gioconda, is revered as a high point of Italian Renaissance portraiture and is now housed in the Louvre. The other listed artists are famous in their own right but did not paint this piece: Raphael is celebrated for harmonious compositions like The School of Athens, Velázquez for his Spanish Baroque realism, and Botticelli for mythic scenes such as The Birth of Venus. So, the Mona Lisa is linked to Leonardo da Vinci.