Smiling is good. And not only so that the interlocutors feel good towards them. According to various sources, smiling can improve health. And not all people know all the secrets and mysteries of such a simple and uncomplicated action. Moreover, it has a truly magical effect on the human body.
Olesya Sudareva, a child clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist at the Clinical Diagnostic Center (branch of GlavUpDK under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), told AiF.ru about what interesting facts about smiling remain unknown to people, but are extremely important .
Smile in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
The oldest depictions of smiling in European art can be seen on the faces of Greek statues - young, usually naked athletes (kouros) or girls in traditional robes (kor). They were usually placed in sanctuaries and burial sites in Greece during the Archaic period (8th–5th centuries BC). Koras and kouros were carved in strictly defined poses (straight body, one leg put forward) and with a meaningless smile on the lips. This is the kind of smile that is especially common in 6th century statues. BC e., was called archaic.
It is difficult to say to whom or what the archaic statues are smiling. The fact that their facial expressions have little to do with the places where they stand only adds to the absurdity.
Rising above time and death, ancient statues look at modern researchers as if with irony.
“In almost all archaic statues, the face is illuminated by a smile, completely independent of the situation that the statue depicts, and sometimes, contrary to all logic, wandering on the face of a mortally wounded, deeply saddened or embittered person.”
Boris Vipper, Soviet art historian
The strange smiles of the statues appeared due to the peculiarities of the technique of sculptors of that time. First, a parallelepiped was cut out of the stone, and then the figure was cut out, simultaneously working on all four sides. The craftsmen sought to revive the image, adding expressiveness to the features. However, due to the fact that the face was processed as a plane, the edges of the mouth and eyes went upward, as in the picture, and not inward.
In addition, Greek culture was then strongly influenced by Egyptian culture with its geometric shapes and frontal bodies of gods and pharaohs. So the archaic smile should not have expressed joy: it owed its appearance to purely technical reasons.
There is another important type of smile in Greek art - the comedy mask. Like the mask of tragedy, it originates in the mysteries of the admirers of Bacchus, the patron saint of winemaking and theater. However, Hellenic art theorists did not consider these genres equally important.
Aristotle believed that the funny is “a certain mistake and disgrace,” however, harmless and not causing suffering to anyone.
The derogatory attitude towards laughter among the Hellenes spread to later culture. Medieval thinkers, relying on the works of ancient authors, considered comedy a low genre, whose place was in the square. “Extra” grins were associated with barbarism and sin. Thus, in the painting “Carrying the Cross” by Bosch, many in the crowd show their teeth, while Christ and Saint Veronica’s lips are modestly pursed.
Nevertheless, medieval culture had its own type of smile - the Gothic one. This can be found in sculptures on tombstones - probably the authors did not strive for portrait resemblance, but followed a certain pattern. As in the case of Greek archaic art, the manner of processing the material could play a cruel joke on the sculptor. Probably, the faces of the angels were intended to be spiritual, but the smile gave them unexpectedly earthly, almost sly expressions.
An example of a Gothic smile - an angel from the portal of Reims Cathedral
Algorithm of actions
When the lens is pointed at you, remember an event that really made you happy, friends, loved ones, even an infinitely cute and funny pet that you like to pet, a walk under the gentle spring sun. Most people like these things. This works flawlessly when you need to disperse the clouds on the horizon of your own soul in a short period of time.
Such a mimic game is not a theatrical performance, it is only a consequence of the true events unfolding in your heart. They appear under conditions of purity of feelings. Remember this state well and the tools you used to achieve it. Not just to pull them out like a trump card from the deck of their masks in order to cast a fog on the public. First of all, you need this in order to be able to rejoice and enjoy both current moments and memories.
Also, remember the feelings you get when using a fake smile, stop it every time you notice signs of it.
The secret of Mona Lisa's smile
They began to deliberately depict a smile during the Renaissance, when artists began to strive for greater portrait resemblance and the transfer of individual features. The Italian portrait painter Antonello da Messina used this technique, drawing on the experience of the archaic. With the help of facial expressions, he sought to add relief and enliven facial expressions.
Antonello da Messina, "Portrait of an unknown sailor" (1465)
Speaking about the smile in the artistic culture of Europe, one cannot fail to mention Da Vinci’s “La Gioconda”. Discussions about the smile of Mona Lisa have become a common cliche, and its mystery still haunts art historians, philosophers and mystics. But why are they even talking about some kind of secret here?
One of the first to glorify this smile was the writer Théophile Gautier (mid-19th century), calling Leonardo’s model “the sphinx of beauty.” In Gautier's view, the expression on Mona Lisa's face was not at all innocent:
“Her smile promises unknown pleasures, it is so divinely ironic...”
The power of his poetic image - a beauty, in the curve of whose lips the secret of attraction and love is hidden - turned out to be so great that the fame of Gioconda's smile began to grow. At first it drove poets crazy, and then it became fashionable among the wider, bourgeois strata of the population.
But authors of earlier eras spoke more calmly about the Mona Lisa. For example, Giorgio Vasari considered da Vinci’s work great and noted the incredibly fine workmanship, but called Gioconda’s smile only pleasant and charming.
The image of mysterious, even demonic femininity, which forces sacrifices of love, taking away the soul and not giving anything in return, was created by the romantics of the 19th century.
At the same time, the idea of the hypnotic, attractive and literally maddening power of the picture arose, which became a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is not for nothing that in the Louvre this canvas is covered with bulletproof glass: it has more than once become a victim of vandals.
Of course, the Mona Lisa is different from other portraits of the era. There are hundreds of interpretations of her attractiveness: for example, this is the first time that such intelligence and personality were reflected in a female portrait.
“It is precisely the extraordinary intellectual charge of Leonard’s portrait that distinguishes it from the portrait images of the Quattrocento. This feature of his is perceived all the more acutely because it relates to a female portrait, in which the character of the model was previously revealed in a completely different, predominantly lyrical, figurative tonality.”
Evsei Rotenberg, Russian art critic
It's not just about the smile, but it has become a symbol of Mona Lisa. Meanwhile, for da Vinci’s paintings this was not something out of the ordinary. On his canvases, for example, John the Baptist and Saint Anne are smiling. The quiet, soft smiles of Leonardo’s characters are as distinctive a feature of the master’s works as the famous sfumato effect (slight blurring of contours).
Leonardo da Vinci, "John the Baptist" (1513). Source
Leonardo da Vinci, Saint Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ (1508–1510). Source
Use your imagination
In total, scientists have studied 50 different types of smiles in nature. There are many muscles in the human face, with the help of different states you can convey your feelings and sensations without words.
A sincere smile is unique in that it cannot be faked. Even the most skilled actor cannot do this. It occurs involuntarily. If you are a rather modest and constrained person who does not show your emotions clearly, you will need to remember how simple-minded and free your soul was in childhood. Surely there are photographs from New Year trees and matinees in kindergarten. Even if you were a very serious child, there is a high chance that there will be an image that shows your sincere smile. Of course, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and you are already a completely different person, but still this is your image. The happy child on it is you.
Smiles on classic canvases
The model's slightly stretched lips did not shock anyone else. But why are there no wide smiles in classical portraits? According to one version, at a time when dentistry was almost inaccessible, few people had teeth that they were not ashamed to show.
Francois Gerard, "Portrait of the Empress Josephine." Source
They say that Napoleon's beloved Josephine de Beauharnais became famous for her mysterious smile precisely because of advanced caries: she had to keep her mouth closed or use dentures.
New teeth were made from porcelain or bought from other people: a poor man with good genetics, for whom sugar was an unaffordable luxury, could well sell his teeth to feed his family.
Perhaps the condition of the mouth was indeed one of the reasons that people in portraits smile only slightly, but still it was not only that. The reasons for dislike of smiling are deeper.
In classical culture, a smile with teeth was considered indecent. If in the Middle Ages a smile was something sinful, then in the Enlightenment it was considered a sign of unreasonableness. It was assumed that an adequate adult person does not grin in vain: let’s leave this to fairground buffoons, crazy people and children who have not yet been “corrected” by school, barracks or prison.
However, you also rarely see laughing kids in children’s portraits. Secular depictions of children, popular since the 15th and 16th centuries, presented them as small adults.
Georg Liszewski, "The Society of Smokers at the Court of the Prussian King Frederick William I" (1737–1738)
The virtues of a child of the Enlightenment era were considered rationality, prudence, good morals, but not sweet spontaneity (childhood was invented as an independent category only towards the end of the 19th century). In any case, the aristocratic offspring, who had to pose for hours for the artist in tight corsets and with complex hairstyles, were not having fun.
A ceremonial portrait generally assumed the most serious attitude towards posing, because it was about status - and even today people take “status” photos for professional accounts on social networks. In addition, descendants used such portraits to judge the appearance of their relatives. In the end, people just wanted to capture their face as it was, with calm facial expressions, without distortion (adjusted for the painter’s flattery, which served as Photoshop).
Thus, the idealized idea of a person who transmitted his image into eternity implied importance and seriousness. In life, people, of course, smiled and laughed, although high society did not really approve of this.
The ladies tried not to laugh loudly and not to flash their teeth, so as not to seem vulgar. And a gentleman who grins at any reason could be considered a heliman.
The thirty-three-teeth smile was often associated with alcoholism and vice. As a rule, laughing characters can be seen in picturesque genre scenes from the life of representatives of the lower classes - musicians, innkeepers or cheerful drunkards.
Gerrit van Honthorst, "The Fiddler with a Glass of Wine" (1624)
Frans Hals, "The Cavalier Rampe and his Mistress" (1623).
But the decent Dutch matrons in the paintings of the same Hals, if they smile, do so much more restrainedly.
Awaken the light in your heart
Many people have simply forgotten what it’s like to laugh from the heart and smile with their eyes; they are tense and constrained, and this is certainly not the path to happiness and a good mood. It is impossible to fake such a state; you can only allow yourself not to hold back at the moment when feelings take over your soul.
People often try to be positive not because they consider themselves to be so, but in order to win over those around them. But this is the wrong approach. Such an individual becomes an electric light bulb, attracting insects to the bright light, attracting people whose company is supposed to make him happy. With this approach, you will never be able to experience sincere joy, because you adapt yourself to the world around you and expect feedback from it.
Smiles in photographs
In ancient photographs, which continue the tradition of the ceremonial portrait with all its ideological baggage, you will also hardly see smiling people. Considering that the opportunity to take photos again might not come soon or at all, this was a serious investment of resources. You had to dress in your best dress, take a solemn pose, choose a good angle and look romantically into the distance.
The technique also imposed its limitations: due to the long exposure, it was necessary to remain motionless for some time. However, over time, photography became more accessible and popular, and people became less and less embarrassed to smile. The Kodak company, which mass-produced cameras, played a big role in this.
Society became more democratic, class boundaries were erased, and the value of a prim facial expression and important manners gradually disappeared.
In the first half of the twentieth century, a wary attitude towards smiling was still noticeable.
In P. J. Wodehouse's stories of Jeeves and Wooster, the frivolous Bertie Wooster is constantly grinning, but his aunts, personifying the old traditions, are not seen doing so. Jeeves only allows himself an ironic half-smile - a sign of restraint and respectability.
Okay society
It is common to think that we experience emotions depending on the situation or our thoughts. However, there is another opinion: emotions follow changes in the body - this theory was put forward in the 19th century by psychologist W. James and physician K. Lange . Therefore, by changing postures, facial expressions and gestures, you can consciously control your mood . Indeed, by adopting a proud posture and putting a smile on one’s face , a person becomes bolder, and this technique is often used in coaching and management psychology . American society has been smiling diligently for a long time, and Western Europe is not lagging behind. “Smile at the world and it will smile at you” - this thesis has become the motto of the lives of many enterprising people. There are professions (flight attendants, waiters, insurance agents, salespeople) where a smile is equal to the dress code - without it you cannot go to a client, and at special trainings people are taught to smile correctly. A significant bonus to the “free smile ” is personal success and an increase in sales by 20–30%.
Like Marilyn Monroe
Advertising of dental services made its contribution. A white-toothed smile symbolized prosperity and belonging to the upper class, spoke of attractiveness and the ability to win over oneself. We were talking not only about health, but also about beauty: straightening, whitening, applying veneers. Movie stars became important clients of the industry. This is how the concept of “Hollywood smile” appeared, which even today describes the ideal dentition.
Janet Gaynor, first American actress to win an Oscar
Another common expression associated with American photo smiles is “Say sy-y-yr.” It first appeared in the early 1940s in the pages of the American press. US Ambassador to the USSR Joseph Davis wrote in his book “Mission to Moscow” that saying the word cheese, allowing his lips to stretch, helped him look friendly in the photo.
Today, rare commercial photography and video shooting is complete without wide smiles.
Marketers' belief that an open smile is appropriate in any situation sometimes leads to absurdities: happy families in stock photos smile as if they had taken a euphoretic, and women melt into bliss after eating a spoonful of yogurt.
Besides, our mirror neurons cannot be fooled. An actor’s insufficiently convincing performance immediately responds with acute inconsistency and gives rise to conflicting signals. This is how the meme about Harold Hiding the Pain appeared: the elderly man’s forced smile speaks of anything but joy.
Hungarian electrician Andras Arato, who became famous online as Harold Hide the Pain.
However, despite some “excesses on the ground”, an open smile is no longer a symbol of stupidity and vice, but a demonstration of openness and sympathy.
"Smile, don't make a difficult face"
The modern concept of a “good” smile arose quite late. Does this mean that people experienced different emotions before? And are they the same for everyone?
Each science answers these questions in its own way. “Natural” and “cultural” approaches are fundamentally different.
Ethologists believe that the human smile is universal.
Even Darwin, in his work “The Expression of Emotions in Men and Animals,” argued that the experiences of all peoples in all eras manifest themselves in the same way. Psychologist Paul Ekman conducted an experiment: he showed photographs of people with different emotions to representatives of different nations of the world, and it turned out that the same basic emotional experiences, including joy, are characteristic of all.
According to the concepts of ethologists, smiling and laughter in humans developed from facial demonstrations in monkeys. Although different species show teeth on different occasions:
- for a social game or playful fight - an analogue of friendly jokes,
- to demonstrate submission - a kind of ingratiating smile in front of the boss,
- to console frightened low-ranking individuals: “It’s okay, baby.”
Behavioral researchers insist that a person’s smile is a tamed aggression, a reduction in violence.
Many animals show their teeth, demonstrating that they do not use them, although they could. In folk entertainment, contrasted with the official “smileless” culture, the spirit of ancient Dionysian festivals was always felt.
"American Psycho" (2000)
Cultural anthropologists believe that the nature of a smile is not in genetic programs, but in cultural characteristics.
This was the opinion, in particular, of Ray Birdwhistell, the founder of the science of kinesics about non-verbal methods of interaction.
From this point of view, facial expressions do not provide objective information at all about how a person feels. When Papua New Guineans were shown photographs of different emotions, they perceived the traditional Western expression of horror as aggression.
Even facial expressions during orgasm are different between Western and Eastern people: Asians stretch their lips, and Europeans widen their eyes and mouth.
But pain manifests itself in the same way - probably because the theme of suffering is less saturated with cultural conventions than sex.
The “cultural” point of view is also supported by how the symbolic meanings of a smile differ even among closer peoples.
Social smiles in Russia appeared around the 18th century as part of etiquette, a courtly practice already common at the French and English courts. Nevertheless, in the West, Russians are still considered to have a resting bitch face and articles are written about why Russians never smile.
In turn, residents of the post-Soviet space suspect their smiling Western neighbors of insincerity and even some stupidity. And the point here is not only in the stamp of socialism, but also in the deep cultural differences associated with how the Western and Eastern churches interpreted corporeality.
However, the Anglo-Saxon culture of smiling is also changing. If in the 20th century smiling at a stranger meant being friendly, now it makes young people wary: a smile can be regarded as a violation of personal boundaries, or even as harassment.
Our facial behavior has both innate and introduced components. Smiling is an innate form of behavior; it is formed in infants as a response to people’s faces. Another thing is that with age we learn to manage it. This is where a culture comes into play, which is capable of almost completely suppressing a smile - for example, making it socially invisible.
Visual communication of feelings
Eyes are the mirror of the soul. That is why the most sincere smile is the one in which not only the lips take part. This is a great way to share bright feelings and inner light. Nowadays, when people are constantly running somewhere, more often we only see a fleeting grin that appears as a reaction to humor. But pure emotions are a warm light that flows straight from your heart, it is much more beautiful and sublime than all these small laughs. Seeing a real smile, a person will definitely understand that you can be trusted, you are not hiding bad intentions behind your graceful game. If you want to charm others with your sincerity, do not deny yourself such pleasure.
