Mona Lisa

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mona-lisa

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the artist?Leonardo da Vinci
2. What is the date of creation?Circa 1503–1506, with possible later work until 1517
3. Who is the lady in the Mona Lisa painting?The lady is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo.
4. Why does the Mona Lisa have a mysterious smile?Leonardo used a special technique called sfumato that blends colors around her eyes and mouth, making her smile look like it changes.

Sfumato: A Renaissance painting technique that creates soft, hazy transitions between colors and tones, blurring sharp outlines.
Renaissance: A transformative period in European history (c. 14th-16th centuries) marked by a revival of classical art, literature, and learning.
Iconography: The visual images and symbols used in a work of art, and their meaning.