How 500 Years of Restoration Made the Mona Lisa’s Eyebrows Disappear

What Happened to the Mona Lisa's Eyebrows

Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece known as the Mona Lisa is the world's most famous painting. As such, you might be surprised to find out it's a rather small portrait, and so many people go to the Louvre to see it that you can't really get close enough to study it. But that's okay, because we have plenty of photographs. We can admire her smile, her eyes, and ...where's her eyebrows? Did Lisa del Giocondo, the model for the portrait, have her brows…

How 500 Years of Restoration Made the Mona Lisa’s Eyebrows Disappear

August Moon of 1440 eloquently explained why the subject in the iconic Leonardo da Vinci painting Mona Lisa appears to be missing her eyebrows, noting that scientific discoveries had proved they were once there. It turns out that restoration is the culprit, specifically 500 years of restoration, a process that can actually remove small amounts of paint even by the most skilled craftsman. Add a protective layer of varnish to seal the paint to pr…