Mona Lisa doesn’t smile

The smile of the Mona Lisa - or La Gioconda - is special because it is so open to interpretation. Each person who sees it comes away with a different theory as to what it means. And that is precisely what makes it "special". The painting itself is not even remotely the best work that da Vinci ever painted. It is rather muddy in terms of its use of color and technique. Yet the Mona Lisa has compelled the attention of viewers for a long, long time due to that famous engimatic expression. Some people have claimed that this is due to its beauty. Beauty? Maybe. But I think not. Beauty is variable by culture, time, and an individual viewer. I believe it is the enigma of the expression. Because enigma is enchanting. Enigma is the lover's best seductive tool. Will she or won't she? Does she or doesn't she? And when it is in a painting - where we cannot inquire, and the history is unavailable? We will never, ever know for certain. We will ask ourselves and each other forever precisely what that slight lift of the lip, that inscrutable gaze signifies. Mona Lisa is the eternal tease - a mirror of every fantasy we wish to bring to her.