how is leonardo da vinci's art diffrent than others of his time?

Answer 1

In our eyes it still looks very formal but in those days there were very strict rules on how people should look on a painting. How they should stand. what happens in the back. It was a rather intricate language that many people could read like we do movies now. (Think of that like you know in a horror movie who will die next. Or the black hats in very old westerns.)

Leo experimented with new input in that language. He made people stand in more natural poses, Used other colors than the 'normal' colors that were used. Also he broke with painting conventions of how you should make a face. He brought observation back into painting. That is why Mona was such a hit. That smile was impossible until then because painters made smiles like emoticons. Leo made it almost photographic.

Answer 2

It focused on man rather than God.