Mona Lisa subject may have suffered from alopecia areata

A new analysis published in the medical journal Clinics in Dermatology suggests that the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” Lisa Gherardini, may have suffered from systemic alopecia areata.

Researchers identified several physical indicators in the portrait to support this diagnosis, including a hairline that lacks a typical gradual transition and the absence of scarring on the forehead or around the eyes. While some have attributed the subject's appearance to Renaissance beauty standards involving eyebrow plucking, multispectral imaging revealed a single, faint hair in the eyebrow region, which is consistent with the clinical characteristics of alopecia areata.

The study also notes that significant life stressors experienced by Gherardini around 1503—including childbirth, the loss of several children, and broader political and social upheaval—may have triggered or exacerbated the autoimmune-related hair loss.