The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting by the renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci, created in the 16th century. This oil portrait is painted on a poplar wood panel. This masterpiece is currently owned by the French government and is displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The model for Mona Lisa is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. What makes this painting remain famous and controversial after five centuries is its mystery. The face of Mona Lisa creates an ethereal, enchanting atmosphere that no one has been able to explain.
We may never know exactly what Mona Lisa is thinking, but it is intriguing to ponder the possibilities.
Her expression seems to convey a smile, but it also appears melancholic and contemplative. This is undoubtedly a question that may never have a definitive answer. However, scientists have applied numerous theories and analyses in an attempt to decode this mystery. From a neuroscientific perspective, each researcher has produced surprising results.
Opinions on the “False Smile”
A research team including Dr. Luca Marsili, a neuroscientist from the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Lucia Ricciardi from St. George’s University in London, and Matteo Bologna from Sapienza University in Rome published results from a project in 2019 indicating that Mona Lisa is likely smiling.
The authors of the study asked 42 volunteers to look at images of both sides of Mona Lisa’s smile and determine what emotion was being expressed. A total of 39 individuals, or 92.8%, reported that the left side exhibited a smile, slightly curved upward, indicating happiness. However, the right side of Mona Lisa’s face did not show a smile. Thirty-five people considered the right-side expression neutral, five thought it conveyed a negative emotion, showing disdain, and two perceived sadness.
Mona Lisa’s smile on the left (image c) and the smile on the right (image d) create contrasting feelings.
Experts also noted that the muscles in the upper part of Mona Lisa’s face are not activated. A genuine human smile will cause the cheeks to lift and the muscles around the eyes to contract. This is known as a Duchenne smile, named after the famous 19th-century French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne.
The asymmetrical smile, also referred to as a non-“standard” Duchenne smile “reflects an inauthentic emotion and is thought to occur when the subject is lying.” Therefore, Mona Lisa did not exhibit a genuine smile, and it is possible that da Vinci requested her to portray a distorted smile.
“Mona Lisa’s asymmetrical smile is an inauthentic smile, attempting to convey a false facade. Of course, ‘lying’ may be a strong term to use here. We must acknowledge that it is difficult for anyone asked to sit still for hours to maintain a truly happy smile throughout that time,” the study states.
Previously, some experts suggested that the asymmetry in Mona Lisa’s smile could be due to facial weakness from Bell’s palsy, which affects the seventh cranial nerve.
Mona Lisa’s Smile and Psychological Experimentation
In 2017, researchers at the Freiburg Institute of Psychology and Mental Health in Germany declared that Mona Lisa is smiling. They conducted two experiments. First, they showed participants the original Mona Lisa painting along with eight variations where the curvature of the mouth was altered to create happy and sad expressions.
A total of nine paintings were displayed in random order to participants 30 times. Twelve participants identified happy faces faster and more accurately than sad expressions. Nearly 100% of the volunteers categorized the original painting as “happy.”
Scientists “alter” Mona Lisa’s smile into various versions based on the curvature of the mouth.
In the second experiment, researchers delved deeper into images depicting sad emotions. Using the original as the “standard” for the happiest expression, they presented seven versions of Mona Lisa that appeared more melancholic, three of which had been derived from the previous experiment.
Most participants rated the images they had previously seen as sadder compared to their own assessments in the first experiment. In other words, when presented with other sad images, participants found all the images to appear sadder overall.
“The data show that our perceptions, such as being sad or happy, are not absolute but adapt to the environment at an astonishing rate,” the study published in Scientific Reports stated.
This does not mean that the opinions of dozens of German research volunteers will overturn centuries of speculation.
Mona Lisa’s smile remains an intriguing mystery.
Previously, other studies indicated that Leonardo da Vinci might have been deceiving viewers, and that Mona Lisa utilized “technology” of optical illusions developed by the master to create what is termed a “smile that cannot be touched.” This illusion causes viewers to see the subject as smiling when viewed from a distance. However, when viewers focus on the mouth, the character’s melancholic expression emerges. Observing the painting from different angles and distances, and with varying degrees of blur, we perceive different facial expressions. The ambiguity is an intentional effect by the artist, and he has succeeded remarkably.
In fact, there have been numerous studies and scientific reports aimed at answering the question: Does Mona Lisa smile, and is she happy or sad? The speculations and arguments can only open up possibilities for us, while the truth remains known only to Leonardo da Vinci.
