Second only to the mystery of her enigmatic smile is another question that has long fascinated art experts: what happened to Mona Lisa's eyebrows?
A Parisian engineer who has dedicated 3,000 hours to examining Leonardo da vinci's famous portrait now claims to have the answer.
Pascal Cotte says that ultra detailed digital scans of the 16th-century picture allow him to look into the past and see how the Florentine merchant's wife looked before years of restoration work.
Using the 240-megapixel scans, Mr Cotte, 49, says he can see traces of a left eyebrow long obscured from the naked eye by the efforts of the restorers.
His conclusion is that Mona Lisa once had both eyebrows and eyelashes, but that these have been gradually eroded to the point that they are no longer visible.
"If you look closely at Mona Lisa's eye you can clearly see that the cracks around the eye have slightly disappeared, and that may be explained that one day a curator or restorer cleaned the eye, and cleaning the eye removed, probably removed the eyelashes and eyebrow," he said.
Mr Cotte said his study of the painting also revealed that Da Vinci originally painted Mona Lisa with a wider face and a more expressive smile than in the final work.
He also changed his mind about the position of two fingers on the subject's left hand.
The alterations that Da Vinci made to the painting are, according to Mr Cotte, an example of his perfectionism.
"With just one photo you go deeper into the construction of the painting and understand that Leonardo was a genius," Mr Cotte said.
Da Vinci is quoted as once saying: "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
He is thought to have kept The Mona Lisa with him for more than a decade and kept working on it right up until his death.
Many reasons could be the case...
If you have any more ideas please share...
She has no eyebrows and no eye lashes. It is believed that Leonardo actually painted these details but that they are now lost. It could be the result of cleaning. Leonardo experimented with different kinds of paint, which may have contributed to the loss of details.
The painting is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini. Mona means Madam.Madam Lisa.
mona Lisa was a Sikh
the Mona Lisa is in the Louvre in Paris
The Mona Lisa is a painting. Paintings are not haunted, unless you mean a building named the 'Mona Lisa' ?
As you probably know, she does not have any. Some believe they have got lost when the painting was cleaned.
Before Leonardo painted the picture of the Mona Lisa, it was uncommon for portraits to show the person smiling. For this the most interesting thing about the painting is her slight smile and kind eyes. Also the fact that she does not have eye brows is quite interesting.
She has no eyebrows and no eye lashes. It is believed that Leonardo actually painted these details but that they are now lost. It could be the result of cleaning. Leonardo experimented with different kinds of paint, which may have contributed to the loss of details.
The painting is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini. Mona means Madam.Madam Lisa.
mona lisa
You have two eye brows because you have two eyes. Or, you may have a uni-brow, eyes brows that connect. Without eye brows we wouldn't look normal.
mona Lisa was a Sikh
No, Mona Lisa is not a saint.
Mona Lisa is everywhere that there is a museum.
the Mona Lisa is in the Louvre in Paris
The Mona Lisa is a painting. Paintings are not haunted, unless you mean a building named the 'Mona Lisa' ?
The Mona Lisa or the Smiling Woman The Mona Lisa or the Smiling Woman The Mona Lisa or the Smiling Woman