Why Is She Smiling?

The Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Even people who can count on one hand the number of paintings they’ve seen in their lifetime recognize the Mona Lisa. You want to talk about iconic? The Mona Lisa’s about as close as it gets. From the lack of eyebrows (ever noticed that?) to the slight smile, almost everything about the painting is instantly recognizable. There’s one question that often comes up when discussing the Mona Lisa: why is she smiling? Go on, try and answer that question. There’re lots of possibilities. Want to know what I think? I think she’s smiling because of mining. Why because of mining? Well, mining makes painting possible—literally, we wouldn’t have paints without mining—and she knows it.

It wouldn’t surprise many people to find out that paints we mix and use today are derived from mined materials and mineral compounds (in fact, to see how modern paints are made, click here), but did you know minerals have been the basis for paints since way back when Neanderthals walked the earth? It’s true. Cave paintings used minerals. Clays rich in iron oxides were used to create colors like yellow and red. Iron oxide remains a key ingredient for many red pigments to this day. Chalk was frequently used for white (though it would later be replaced by lead), and coal was (and still is) used for black. The ancient Egyptians, famous for their hieroglyphs, were the first to use the color blue. They mixed calcium, copper, and quartz to create a hue known as, of all things, “Egyptian Blue.” While still in use, this shade of blue is not as frequently employed as it once was.

Minerals remained just as important to painting as the world moved toward one of the most famous artistic periods: the Renaissance. During this golden age of artistic production, minerals like azurite (blue), malachite (green), and verdigris (green) were key components of paint pigments. Mixed colors like orange used minerals like orpiment (a mixture of arsenic and sulfur), a mineral so expensive only rich patrons could afford it, though it was popular during the Renaissance era. Interestingly, during the Renaissance there was a dark blue pigment derived from lapis lazuli (a combination of azurite and other minerals), a precious gemstone. The resulting pigment was very expensive and was often used to paint the Virgin Mary’s clothes. It was such a distinctive color and used in such a specific way that onlookers who saw “lapis blue” used in a painting interpreted it to indicate the Virgin Mary. From the Renaissance, all the way to the modern day, minerals remain the key element of paint pigments.

Painting is one of, perhaps the oldest art form, but whether it’s cave paintings, the works of a Renaissance master like Da Vinci, or even the modern paint we use nowadays to paint our homes, one thing is for certain: without mining and minerals we wouldn’t have any of it, including the ever-elusive, always alluring Mona Lisa smile.