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Scientists figure out why Mona Lisa smiles
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-16 08:46
The mysterious half-smile that has intrigued viewers of the Mona Lisa for
centuries isn't really that difficult to interpret, Dutch researchers said
Thursday.
In this undated handout file photo released on
April 4, 2005 by the Louvre Museum, employees take down the painting Mona
Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci from its former place in the museum in Paris on
April 4, 2005. In what Dutch reserchers viewed as a fun demonstration of
technology rather than a serious experiment, researchers scanned a
reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece and subjected it to
cutting-edge 'emotion recognition' software, developed in collaboration
with the University of Illinois. The result showed the painting's famous
subject was 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful and 2
percent angry. She was less than 1 percent neutral, and not at all
surprised. [AP] |
She was smiling because she
was happy 錕斤拷 83 percent 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 Leonardo da
Vinci's masterpiece and subjected it to cutting-edge "emotion recognition"
software, developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois.
The result showed the painting's famous subject was 83 percent happy, 9
percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful and 2 percent angry. She was less than 1
percent neutral, and not at all surprised.
Leonardo began work on the painting in 1503, and it now hangs in the Louvre
in Paris.
The work, also known as "La Gioconda," is 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.
Harro Stokman, a professor at the University of Amsterdam involved in the
experiment, said the researchers knew the results would be unscientific 錕斤拷 the
software isn't 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.
Lead researcher Nicu Sebe took the challenge as seriously as he could, using
the faces of 10 women of Mediterranean ancestry to create a composite image of a
neutral expression. He then compared that to the face in the painting, scoring
it on the basis of six emotions: happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear and
sadness.
"Basically, it's like casting a spider web over the face to break it down
into tiny segments," Stokman said. "Then you look for minute differences in the
flare of the nostril or depth of the wrinkles around the eyes."
Stokman said with a reading of 83 percent, it's clear happiness was the
woman's main emotion.
Biometrics experts not involved with the experiment said the results were
interesting even if they aren't the last word on the Mona Lisa.
"Facial recognition technology is advancing rapidly, but emotional
recognition is really still in its infancy," said Larry Hornak, director of the
Center for Identification Technology Research at West Virginia University.
"It sounds like they did try to use a data set, even if it was small, and
that's typical of work in an area like this that's relatively new. It's an
interesting result," he said.
Stokman said he knew the University of Amsterdam effort won't prove or
disprove controversial theories about the painting. One is that it was actually
a self-portrait of Leonardo himself as a woman.
"But who knows, in 30, 40, 50 years, maybe they'll be able to tell what was
on her mind," Stokman said.
Hornak agreed the idea was entertaining.
"It's always fun to apply technology to areas of public interest, and
sometimes you can come up with results that are very illuminating," he said.
Jim Wayman, a biometrics researcher at San Jose State University agreed.
"It's hocus pocus, not serious science," Wayman said. "But it's good for a
laugh, and it doesn't hurt anybody.
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