As art historians and Nat King Cole fans can attest, the allure of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous portrait lies in its subject’s inscrutable smile: Is it wry? Melancholy? Reflective?
Actually, Mona Lisa was just in a pretty good mood, according to a team of researchers at the University of Amsterdam. Using computer software intended to identify people’s emotions on the basis of photographs, the researchers determined that she was "83 percent happy."
The research does offer some support for admirers who see something more sinister in Mona Lisa’s smile: The remaining 17 percent of her emotional range was found to be divided among feelings of disgust, fear, and anger. (BBC News)
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