MONALISA (1503) � This has been called "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, and the most parodied work of art in the world" and is regarded as the paradigmatic masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. The enigmatic expression of the subject, the monumentality of the composition, the deft modelling of shapes, and the atmospheric illusionism are some of the painting's novel features.�������� *Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452�1519) was Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. He gained notoriety for his notebooks, in which he produced sketches and notes on a variety of topics, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, painting, and palaeontology, even though his popularity primarily stemmed from his accomplishments as a painter. Only his younger contemporary, Michelangelo, has made a greater impact to following generations of painters than Leonardo, who is widely recognised as a genius and the embodiment of the Renaissance humanist ideal.�