Why Mona Lisa Doesn't Have Eyebrows?

Have you ever noticed Mona Lisa's Eyebrows? Apparently, there isn't one to notice in the first place. What happened? Did Da Vinci forget to draw them? Or did he draw the Mona Lisa with little care and leave it without eyebrows? Questions brewing, I know. So let's find out the answers to these.

But to begin with, Mona Lisa was not the real name of the woman painted by Da Vinci. It was Lisa Gherardini, spouse to Francesco del Giocondo, a wealthy man, who worked in Florence, Italy. The middle sixteenth-century biographer Giorgio Vasari gave the name the Mona Lisa to the painting, which literally means 'aristocratic', or 'noble'. The names of the paintings before that were La Gioconda in Italian or La Joconde in French.

I don't have to tell you that the painting is so influential from its inception. Because if you didn't know, you wouldn't have clicked the article in the first place. But let me give you a small paragraph on how influential the work is, especially in modern times. 

The fact that Mona Lisa has her mailbox in the Louvre museum itself speaks volumes. Every year, a vast amount of love letters come to her. Many people including (oh, no, especially would be a better word) artists die for her. Luc Maspero, an artist, had committed suicide by falling from the fourth floor of a hotel in Paris, leaving a suicide note about her. Many had followed the lead- ha, the sheep behind the shepherd, weren't they?

With love comes hatred. There are several shocking stories of those who tried to vandalize this piece of art. One such attack by Ugo Ungaza Villegas, a Bolivian, caused damage to her left elbow. After that, an acid attack also followed, where the perpetrator slipped from the hands of the authorities. Later, a bulletproof was made and the Mona Lisa was on its protection which protected it from several unfortunate incidents that followed!

Now let's cut into the heart.

What happened to the Mona Lisa? Why she doesn't have any eyebrows?

One such theory is that during the Renaissance, it was a fashion for women to shave their eyebrows. Women shaved their facial hair including eyebrows at those times. This denoted their virtue and intelligence, at those times. The Mona Lisa was painted during the Renaissance. So it may have made Da Vinci leave the eyebrows without painting them. Or it could also have been that Lisa Gherardini had no eyebrows.

But this is far mostly a misconception. Because so far as we know, it is not something that has strong historical evidence of any sort. There might be exceptions. But we can't for certain prove that this was the trend. More importantly, magnificent eyebrows could be seen in the prominent works of the time such as Da Vinci's own 'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne', and Madonna by the Chair by Raphael are some examples which prove the conspiracy otherwise.

Another theory argues that Leonardo had first painted the Mona Lisa with eyebrows but later erased them. But there is a similar debate that the Mona Lisa had eyebrows and later got erased due to years. The latter sounds more plausible because it also indirectly supports what I have said for the previous argument whereby women were told to have shaved their eyebrows for fashion, which seems not to be the case. But if it is erased, it prompts us to investigate or speculate as to why it might have been done.

Another theory, where the lack of eyebrows is seen as evidence to point out the work as an unfinished one by Da Vinci only seems to be a weak justification. Moreover, the lack of historical evidence is a major concern, as we can only speculate, not prove anything of the sort.

Even if we speculate if it was so, Giorgio Vasari's 16th-century work 'Lives of Artists', written around 1550, a catalogue of the artists of the time, contradicts the claim by clearly stating about Mona Lisa's eyebrows. I am quoting the text:

"The eyebrows could not be more natural, for they represent the way the hair grows in the skin - thicker in some places and thinner in others, following the pores of the skin."

This nearly proves the point. But then - another issue arises: Vasari never says in the text that he had seen the painting himself. That weakens his statement as if he hasn't seen it, how come he knows? He explains it as follows:

"For Francesco del Giocondo, Leonardo undertook the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, and after working on it for four years, he left the work unfinished, and it may be found at Fontainebleau today in the possession of King Francis."

This can most possibly mean that all he has is general knowledge and that he hasn't seen it for real. He also says the work is unfinished, a theory that could be traced back within the article. But remind you, it is all highly suggestive.

But considering Da Vinci was adept in the hidden details, it can be yet another possibility, but that doesn't prove anything.

But before you start picking your brains, hear this. A series of ultra-detailed digital scans (240 MP) of the painting in 2007 by Pascal Cotte, a Parisian Engineer, proved that Da Vinci had already painted the eyebrows with bolder eyelashes. But when time changed, the painting had its own changes. The eyelashes and eyebrows of the Mona Lisa had simply faded over time due to the consistent restoration efforts.

So to the readers who read only the title and the ending:

Did Mona Lisa have eyebrows?

Certainly. Both her eyebrows and eyelashes got faded over time.

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