Mona Lisa May not be as pretty says research

The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world and there is no doubt it changed the whole face of modern art. But according to a research pioneered by the ancient Greeks, Mona Lisa may not be as pretty as many art lovers like to think . Her enigmatic and charming smile may have bewitched critics and fans alike since 1517 but she is only third on the list of the most beautiful women in art.

The woman in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece was found to be only 86.6 per cent accurate to the Golden Ratio – the Greeks’ interpretation of physical perfection. The guide marks her down for her wide ‘manly’ face, poor shaping of her eyes, slight double chin, and the small gap between her lips and nose.

The golden ratio was a mathematical equation devised by the Greeks in an attempt to measure beauty. The premise behind this is that the closer the ratios of a face, body or room are to the number 1.62, the more beautiful it becomes. The golden ratio also appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plant parts.

While the ratio can by applied to anything, and was used by Leonardo Da Vinci for the the perfect human male body in his famous work the Virtruvian Man, it is also applied to the human face.
The painting was beaten to first place in the beauty stakes by other well-known female portraits such as Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe and The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli . The Birth Of Venus by Sandro Botticelli in the 1480s came second on 89 per cent – scoring highly for her chin, face shape and forehead. Andy Warhol’s screen print of Marilyn Monroe from 1967 had a score of 89.1 per cent – with high marks for her nose shape, lips and eye position.
The masterpieces were tested with the latest facial mapping techniques by cosmetic surgeon Dr Julian De Silva, who uses the technology in his work. Dr De Silva, who runs the Centre For Advanced Facial Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery in Harley Street, London.
According to the research the most beautiful female celebrity is Johnny Depp’s former wife Amber Heard who was found to be 91.8 per cent accurate to the Greek Golden Ratio of Beauty. The most handsome male celebrity was George Clooney with his rating of 91.9 per cent.
Da Vinci’s most recognisable works include the Mona Lisa (pictured), the Last Supper and Vitruvian Man
Da Vinci’s most recognisable works include the Mona Lisa (pictured), the Last Supper and Vitruvian Man. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, is one of the greatest individuals o the last millenium. The poly math was a driving force behind the Renaissance and dabbled in invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been attributed with the development of the parachute, helicopter and tank. He was born in what is modern-day Italy in 1452 and died at the age of 67 in France.