Home / Arts and Entertainment / Mona Lisa's Missing Eyebrows: Alopecia Diagnosis Revealed
Mona Lisa's Missing Eyebrows: Alopecia Diagnosis Revealed
25 Oct
Summary
- New study suggests Mona Lisa had alopecia areata universalis.
- Painting's details align with condition, not Renaissance fashion.
- Stress and cultural factors may explain hair loss in sitter.
A new medical study, employing retrospective iconodiagnosis, suggests Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was painted with alopecia areata universalis. This autoimmune condition causes complete hair loss across the body. Researchers examined the painting's surface, identifying missing eyebrows, eyelashes, and an abrupt hairline as key indicators.
These features align with the symptoms of alopecia areata, rather than fifteenth-century Florentine fashion trends that favoured bare foreheads. Other historical theories, including syphilis and leprosy, were also dismissed as they did not account for all observed details.
The study highlights that Leonardo accurately depicted hair in other works, ruling out artistic oversight. A single surviving eyebrow hair, found via multispectral imaging, supports the theory, as alopecia areata can cause hair follicles to go dormant rather than be destroyed.
Cultural practices in fifteenth-century Florence, including the use of hairpieces, could explain the Mona Lisa's full head of hair despite her condition. The sitter, Lisa Gherardini, was a young wife facing significant stress, which can trigger alopecia. Her age in 1503, approximately 24, is consistent with the early onset typical of the condition.
