Reasons Why Smiles are Rare in Art History
Many people view museums as a foreboding experience, a sacred temple which is uninviting to those unwilling to welcome the solemnity that seeing significant art needs. Possibly, it is not the classical columns or imposing marble staircases which create an aura of pompous seriousness. Walking down the great halls, among hundreds of years of work, there is rarely a face smiling at you.
According to a writer Nicholas Jeeves, for most of the recorded human history, the broad smile has significantly been unfashionable. He said this in his essay, The Serious and the Smirk; “The Smile in Portraiture”. Presently, people perceive smiling as an indication of happiness, friendliness or affection. It is a precondition for photographs people might initially refrain from smiling for portraits to avoid revealing bad teeth. Poor dental hygiene was prevalent that it was considered a detractor of attractiveness, according to Julia Wolkoff.
However, the answer is simple; lately; smiling for a selfie takes seconds, unlike the many hours it took sitting for a painted portrait. Posing was quite strenuous, and one cannot hold a smile for too long. Usually, at the end of the camera, roll reveals people with their teeth barred in uncomfortable grimaces.
According to Jeeves, a smile is like blush; it is a response and not an expression per se. Therefore, it can neither be easily maintained nor recorded. If a painter managed to convince his or her subject to be portrayed mid-smile, the results would be quickly perceived as radical because the smile would become the focus of the picture which was rarely what the subject wished for.
The Italian Renaissance artist, Antonello da Messina was one of the few who continually return to the smile of his art. He was trained in the cutting-edge oil painting techniques introduced in the Netherlands that prioritized direct observation of nature.
Reference
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnn.com/style/amp/artsy-smiles-art-history/index.html
Art/History 