The uncatchable smile in Leonardo da Vinci's La Bella Principessa portrait
The uncatchable smile in Leonardo da Vinci's La Bella Principessa portrait
A portrait of uncertain origin recently came to light which, after extensive research and examination, was shown to be that rarest of things: a newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting entitled La Bella Principessa. This research presents a new illusion which is similar to that identified in the Mona Lisa; La Bella Principessa’s mouth appears to change slant depending on both the Viewing Distance and the Level of Blur applied to a digital version of the portrait. Through a series of psychophysics experiments, it was found that a perceived change in the slant of the La Bella Principessa’s mouth influences her expression of contentment thus generating an illusion that we have coined the “uncatchable smile”. The elusive quality of the Mona Lisa’s smile has been previously reported (Science, 290 (2000) 1299) and so the existence of a similar illusion in a portrait painted prior to the Mona Lisa becomes more interesting. The question remains whether Leonardo da Vinci intended this illusion. In any case, it can be argued that the ambiguity created adds to the portrait’s allure.
visual illusion, art, art history, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo, da Vinci, painting, drawing, portrait, La Bella Principessa, Mona Lisa, blur, distance, spatial frequency
78-86
Soranzo, Alessandro
3eb35b03-7e3f-43b9-9087-28d27ff0c039
Newberry, Michelle
6ff1f001-3a40-4231-b5e7-8d5bea906da4
August 2015
Soranzo, Alessandro
3eb35b03-7e3f-43b9-9087-28d27ff0c039
Newberry, Michelle
6ff1f001-3a40-4231-b5e7-8d5bea906da4
Soranzo, Alessandro and Newberry, Michelle
(2015)
The uncatchable smile in Leonardo da Vinci's La Bella Principessa portrait.
Vision Research, 113 (A), .
(doi:10.1016/j.visres.2015.05.014).
Abstract
A portrait of uncertain origin recently came to light which, after extensive research and examination, was shown to be that rarest of things: a newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting entitled La Bella Principessa. This research presents a new illusion which is similar to that identified in the Mona Lisa; La Bella Principessa’s mouth appears to change slant depending on both the Viewing Distance and the Level of Blur applied to a digital version of the portrait. Through a series of psychophysics experiments, it was found that a perceived change in the slant of the La Bella Principessa’s mouth influences her expression of contentment thus generating an illusion that we have coined the “uncatchable smile”. The elusive quality of the Mona Lisa’s smile has been previously reported (Science, 290 (2000) 1299) and so the existence of a similar illusion in a portrait painted prior to the Mona Lisa becomes more interesting. The question remains whether Leonardo da Vinci intended this illusion. In any case, it can be argued that the ambiguity created adds to the portrait’s allure.
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Soranzo & Newberry (2015) - Vision Research paper acceptance confirmation
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Accepted/In Press date: 22 May 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 June 2015
Published date: August 2015
Keywords:
visual illusion, art, art history, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo, da Vinci, painting, drawing, portrait, La Bella Principessa, Mona Lisa, blur, distance, spatial frequency
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 420582
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/420582
ISSN: 0042-6989
PURE UUID: 719c1a56-9d80-4d98-9565-11aaa5ebbf95
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Date deposited: 10 May 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:36
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Author:
Alessandro Soranzo
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