what are its major features and why are they important?

(this is homework incase u havent figured it out)

I think saying it is the best representation of Renaissance painting may be debatable, however it is surely one of the most famous. Oil painting was a relatively new medium for Italian artists at that time and it offered an opportunity to create images that were not as flat looking as tempera paintings or frescoes. Tempera used egg yolk as a binder and was painted on a wooden support. Frescoes were painted in wet plaster directly on a wall. Oil surrounds the pigment in a clear binder that allows the pigment to "float" above the support. Oil paint can be layered over and over still leaving traces of the layer below - these layers are called glazes. The glazing in the background of the Mona Lisa is part of what makes the Mona Lisa so important because it creates an illusion of "atmospheric space." Leonardo worked on that painting for years and applied layer over layer not only in the background but on the figure as well - that's why it seems so three-dimensional. Of course part of what makes it so famous is the mystery behind it - Who was she? Why did he paint her? Is it a self-portrait? Why did he carry this around with him for years...

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