The Mona Lisa challenges traditional gender roles in art by portraying a woman in a powerful and enigmatic light, rather than conforming to typical representations of women as passive or purely decorative in artworks of that time. The painting's subject, Lisa Gherardini, is depicted with a sense of agency, confidence, and intelligence, which was uncommon in Renaissance art where women were often painted as objects of beauty or status symbols rather than as individuals with depth and complexity. The Mona Lisa's direct gaze and enigmatic smile also subvert the traditional male gaze, inviting viewers to engage with her on a more equal footing, rather than simply as an object of desire.
