Researchers discover a second 'Mona Lisa smile,' also painted by Da Vinci

by Ben Reilly Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:01 pm

Researchers have unraveled the mystery of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, with help from another Leonardo da Vinci painting that uses the same clever technique.

The Mona Lisa has captivated people for centuries because her smile is so elusive; from one angle, she seems to be smiling, but when you look directly at her lips, her smile appears to flatten. It’s really a clever visual trick, in which subtle blending of colors exploits our peripheral vision.

And now it appears da Vinci had used the trick before. A recently discovered earlier da Vinci portrait, “La Bella Principessa,” uses the same visual effect to create the impression of an elusive smile.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/08/14/mona-lisa-smile/

Researchers discover a second 'Mona Lisa smile,' also painted by Da Vinci Davincismile-1024x721

Researchers discover a second 'Mona Lisa smile,' also painted by Da Vinci Davincismile-1024x721

I feel dumb that I never noticed that effect before ...

by eddie Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:10 pm

I actually never ever saw a non-smile?
To me, and I've seen the actual painting at Le Louvre, she looks to be smiling a very discreet and slightly smug smile that I can see from every angle.

I never got the "Is she smiling?" question!

by Ben Reilly Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:22 pm

eddie wrote:I actually never ever saw a non-smile?
To me, and I've seen the actual painting at Le Louvre, she looks to be smiling a very discreet and slightly smug smile that I can see from every angle.

I never got the "Is she smiling?" question!

I think it's that the shading on both faces, near the cheekbones, suggests the smile, but the actual mouth isn't smiling very much. Almost like he figured out how to paint smiling eyes. I find it fascinating, my skills are more verbal than visual and I never knew artists did things like this.