A Brief History of the Smile by Angus Trumble, Basic Books, $26, 拢19.99, ISBN 0465087779 Reviewed by Laura Spinney
WHEN museum curator Angus Trumble was invited to give a lecture to a roomful of dentists and maxillofacial surgeons, he was mystified. What could he tell them? It turned out they were eager to know how definitions of beauty had evolved since the 18th century, because just like architects, cosmetic surgeons keep a golden mean in mind: in their case, the optimum distance between chin and lip. Trumble, who confesses to 鈥渟mall and somewhat discoloured鈥� teeth, was thus launched on a journey tracing the smile as advances in dentistry (and photography) propelled it from a faint thing, sparingly used 鈥� not least because teeth rarely survived into adulthood 鈥� to something ever 鈥渂roader, wider, fiercer鈥�.
In this beautifully written book, A Brief History of the Smile, he describes the uses, interpretations and misinterpretations of the smile through history. Thanks to the genius of Leonardo, none has reflected the changing times better than that of the Mona Lisa. The painting was probably the standard marriage portrait of a young bride striving to maintain a decorous pose through her long sittings. Yet since its completion at the end of the 15th century, that smile has been variously described as diabolic, treacherous, full of hostile superiority, enchanting and beautiful.
Advertisement