Happiness: 83%, disgust: 9%, fear: 6%, anger 2%... Mona Lisa’s secret

THE mysterious half-smile that has intrigued viewers of the Mona Lisa for centuries isn’t really that difficult to interpret, Dutch researchers said yesterday.

She was smiling because she was happy - 83% happy, to be exact, according to scientists from the University of Amsterdam.

In what they viewed as a fun demonstration of technology rather than a serious experiment, the researchers scanned a reproduction of the painting and subjected it to cutting-edge “emotion recognition” software, developed with the University of Illinois.

The result showed that the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting was 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful and 2% angry. She was less than 1% neutral, and not at all surprised.

Leonardo began the painting in 1503, and it now hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

The work, which is also known as La Gioconda, is usually believed to have portrayed the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The title is a play on her husband’s name, and also means “the jolly lady” in Italian.

Professor Harro Stokman said the researchers knew the results would be unscientific - the software is not designed to register subtle emotions. So it couldn’t detect the hint of sexual suggestion or disdain many have read into Mona Lisa’s eyes.

In addition, the technology is designed for use with modern digital films and images, and subjects first need to be scanned in a neutral emotionless state to accurately detect their current emotion.

But Prof Stokman said with a reading of 83%, it is clear happiness was her main emotion. Lead researcher Nicu Sebe obtained a base image by using a composition of faces from 10 women of Mediterranean ancestry.

“Basically, it’s like casting a spider web over the face to break it down into tiny segments,” Prof Stokman said.

Prof Stokman said the software was useless in trying to resolve controversial theories about the painting. One is that it was actually a self-portrait of Leonardo himself as a woman.

“Who knows, in 30, 40, 50 years, maybe they’ll be able to tell what was on her mind,” Prof Stokman said.