How 500 Years of Restoration Made the Mona Lisa’s Eyebrows Disappear

August Moon of 1440 eloquently explained why the subject in the iconic Leonardo da Vinci painting Mona Lisa appears to be missing her eyebrows, noting that scientific discoveries had proved they were once there. It turns out that restoration is the culprit, specifically 500 years of restoration, a process that can actually remove small amounts of paint even by the most skilled craftsman.

Add a protective layer of varnish to seal the paint to protect from moisture and air. …Varnish yellows over time. It darkens. So every few decades, restorers would delicately clean the painting, removing the old yellowed varnish and applying fresh clear varnish. Except removing varnish can be incredibly difficult. …You’re using solvents to dissolve a layer of varnish that sits on top of the paint, running the risk of dissolving the very paint you’re trying to reveal.

Moon also goes into the history of the Mona Lisa, and how it has been stolen, damaged, attacked with acid, strewn with rocks, and spray-painted. Despite all the abuse, the Mona Lisa has survived, albeit without her eyebrows. However, Mona Lisa’s celebrity may be her downfall.

Because similar to how restoration slowly erased the eyebrows layer by layer, year by year, our familiarity has slowly erased our ability to see what made this painting revolutionary. Every reprint from Andy Warhol, every coffee mug, every dormroom poster adds another layer of varnish between us and Leonardo’s genius.