Veronese’s bride, tipsy on allegorical wine, leaned forward. “Then why keep doing it? Why not give them a frown tomorrow? A sneer? A yawn?”
The psychology of Mona Lisa’s smile | Scientific Reports - Nature Mona Lisa Smile
This is known as the Aesthetic of Ambiguity . The Mona Lisa smile acts as a mirror. What you see in her lips is often a reflection of your own emotional state. A sneer
“No.” Lisa’s voice was soft as worn silk. “They come with magnifying glasses. With infrared cameras. With theories. They come to solve me.” What you see in her lips is often
Because the Mona Lisa smile is so iconic, scientists have attempted to reverse-engineer it. In 2019, researchers at the University of Cincinnati used an emotion recognition algorithm to map 13 different emotional nuances in the painting. The results? The algorithm concluded that the sitter was 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry.
The Flemish merchant cleared his throat. “That’s… actually rather lovely.”
