I
t could be the most unusual
of all decryption programs:
Italian computer scientist
Nicu Sebe of the University
of Amsterdam is using emotion-
recognition software to unravel
what is arguably the greatest art
mystery in the world: Leonardo
da Vinci’sMona Lisa.
Oneofthecharacteristictraits
of this painting is, depending on
the angle from which it’s viewed,
thewomanappearstodisplay
different emotions: Sometimes a
viewer perceives her as smiling,
while at other times the
subjectappearsserious.
This “Mona Lisacode”
couldonlybedeciphered
500 years after the death
of the brilliant painter.
The solution: “83-9-6-2.”
Thefaceofthesubject
shows 83% happiness.
But the position of her
eyes and the curvature
of her lips contribute 9%
contempt,6%fear,and
2% anger. Even more is
hidden behind the lovely lady’s
smile. Leonardo uncovered an
ancient mystery—the miracle of
sight. He obtained corpses and
secretly studied the structures
of the brain, muscles, and eyes.
He needed to understand them
before he could paint her: Mona
Lisa, and her way of seeing the
world. The painting proves that
the artist was the first person tofully understand how a human
perceives the world: that the eye
receives light, and the brain puts
together and interprets a picture
using all of the light information.
Harvard neurobiologist Margaret
Livingstone says: “Depending on
how you look at the Mona Lisa,
different brain regions become
activated. If you look at her eyes,
the woman seems to be smiling
because the brain only perceives
the shadow of her cheekbones,
which indicate a smile. But if you
look only at her mouth, you may
think the young woman
has a serious expression
since the mouth region
appears to dominate the
impression.” Leonardo
studied his model, his
Lisa, for months. He did
not just paint a picture—
he’d produced the first
personality profile of a
person. It is a painted
psychoanalysis. But the
Mona Lisa symbolizes
something else: a new
way of seeing the world. Each
viewer creates his own Mona
Lisa, depending on his point of
view. And that’s probably the
most important Mona Lisa code:
Everyone has the freedom to
see things as he or she wants.
Today that’s a given, but it was a
life-threatening idea 500 years
ago—back when the worldview
of the Church was the only truth.Which secrets did
LEONARDO
DA V I NC I take
to his GRAVE?
DA VINCI’S
LEGACY
For 500 years,
the Mona Lisa
hid the secrets
of its creator—
until the smile
was finally
deciphered.THE MONA LISA CODE: 83962