The Mona Lisa Has No Eyebrows

For centuries, the smooth, hairless brow of the Mona Lisa has been a source of fascination and debate. Many art historians theorized that this was a deliberate choice, reflecting the high-fashion of the time in Florence, where noblewomen often plucked their eyebrows and hairlines for a more refined, otherworldly appearance. This popular theory suggested Leonardo da Vinci was simply capturing the aesthetic of the era, contributing to the portrait's famously ambiguous and serene expression.

This long-held assumption was overturned in 2007 when French engineer Pascal Cotte used pioneering multispectral scanning technology to analyze the painting. His ultra-high resolution scans peered through the layers of varnish and restoration work, revealing what the naked eye could no longer see: faint traces of the original brushstrokes. Leonardo da Vinci had, in fact, painted both eyebrows and eyelashes on his subject.

So where did they go? The evidence points to the painting's long and eventful history. Over 500 years, repeated cleanings and restoration attempts, particularly in centuries past when solvents were much harsher, likely eroded these delicate details. The fine, single-hair brushstrokes Leonardo used for the eyebrows would have been especially vulnerable, gradually fading into oblivion (Review) and leaving behind the enigmatic expression we see today.