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> By the 17th century in Europe it was a well-established fact that the only people who smiled broadly, in life and in art, were the poor, the lewd, the drunk,
by hcarvalhoalves 13y ago
> By the 17th century in Europe it was a well-established fact that the only people who smiled broadly, in life and in art, were the poor, the lewd, the drunk, the innocent, and the entertainment.
Not sure this explains it all. Maybe later not smiling got established as the style of portraiture of high class because the high class was the only to have portraits in the first place, but doesn't explain why they didn't smiled in the early days.
The best explanation I heard about this was technical: old photos had long exposure, and holding a perfect smile for long is tiring.
- ginko 13y agoTake a look the portrait paintings here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting Barely any smiles either. And paintings don't have the long exposure time of photographs. Sure, you would have to pose for an extended amount of time, but a talented painter could apply any facial expression he chooses from a quick sketch.
- abecedarius 13y agoK-mart models smile, Prada models look haughty. Enough centuries have passed to doubt it's arbitrary convention. I think it's that smiling's associated with appeasement; in your role as high-class you're above appeasing the viewer.