The face of the Messiah has yet to be finished. Leonardo also had difficult time painting the face of Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. Even when he stopped work on the fresco people thought it would not last because it seemed to start peeling and deteriorating right away. The painting, started near 1500, still stands today despite the entire church being demolished in a war and the unpractical way that Leonardo decided to apply the fresco to the wall. This was just the genius of the man. Something that could almost be considered a failure still stands today, and would be recognized by a vast majority of the people in today's modern world. .
Another of Leonardo's paintings that is extremely well known throughout the world, probably one of the most well known works of art in the world, is the Mona Lisa. Leonardo started work on this painting while he was living in Rome. He was not very well liked in Rome as the Pope had other artists who he preferred over Leonardo. The painting was thus taken to France where Leonardo was to become master painter and architect. One thing about the painting that one would only notice after looking for awhile, would be the background. The first thing to notice about it, is that it is rather odd. We can not really tell where it is or why he chose to put it with Mona Lisa. To use an art term, however, we can see perspective in the fact that the lines of the mountains converge on point the happens to be at the tope of Mona Lisa's head. Roy McMullen said "The barren uneven background in the Mona Lisa is as dispassionate as the sitter," which would refer to the enigmatic smile that Leonardo has decided to put on this woman. This particular characteristic of the painting is the famous "half smile." With this particular smile one can not quite decide what exactly the gesture is trying to tell us. Whether or not she is happy, sad, or merely trying to look happy is up to an individual's own interpretation.
