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Last Updated: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 09:09 GMT
Mona Lisa 'happy', computer finds
Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa became world famous after it was stolen in 1911


It concluded that the subject was 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful and 2% angry, New Scientist magazine was told.



The software uses this average expression as the standard for comparisons.


Popular painting

Possibly the most famous portrait of all time, Mona Lisa's cryptic expression has intrigued art lovers for five centuries.

In 2003, a scientist from Harvard University said the way the human eye processes visual information meant the smile was only apparent when the viewer looked at other parts of the painting.

The painting, which is on public display in the Louvre in Paris, was painted between 1503-1506.

It was thought to be named after the sitter, most likely the Florentine wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

The Mona Lisa features in the opening of Dan Brown's hit novel The da Vinci Code when a Louvre curator is found dead near the painting.

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