Is she looking at you? The effect of distance (and memory) on Mona Lisa’s gaze

La Gioconda, aka Mona Lisa (ML), is a most iconic painting, such that many have seen a reproduction of it at least once in their lifetime. Pages have been written about the elusive quality of its smile. Here we considered its eyes instead: if asked out of the blue in which direction ML is looking, many would assert that she is looking straight at the viewer. The fact is that ML is not looking at you, if you look at her up close; however when observed at a distance she indubitably appears to be looking at you. We tested this fact in an experiment with two groups of subjects: G1=100 people from Milano-Bicocca who saw a 1:1 reproduction of the painting at a relatively close distance (70-100cm), and G2=160 people from the Louvre who saw the original at a relatively greater distance (300cm or more). Both groups were interviewed with the painting out of sight; 56% of G1 declared that ML was not looking at them, while 56% of G2 asserted the contrary. Results from a second experiment are also reported showing the importance of the face as a Gestalt in the impression of the direction of ML’s gaze