thumb|300px|right|Detail of the face of Mona Lisa showing the use of sfumato, particularly in the shading around the eyes. Sfumato ( , ; , i.e. 'blurred') is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. It is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci was the most prominent practitioner of sfumato, based on his research in optics and human vision, and his experimentation with the camera obscura. He introduced it and implemented it in many of his works, including the Virgin of the Rocks and in his famous painting of the Mona Lisa. He described sfumato as "without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke".
thumb|300px|right|detail of the face of mona lisa showing the use of sfumato particularly in the shading around the eyes sfumato (  ;  ie 'blurred') is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on or the out-of-focus plane it is one of the canonical painting modes of the renaissance leonardo da vinci was the most prominent practitioner of sfumato based on his research in optics and human vision and his experimentation with the camera obscura he introduced it and implemented it in many of his works including the virgin of the rocks and in his famous painting of the mona lisa he described sfumato as "without lines or borders in the manner of smoke"