Concepts of Facial Beauty: From Antiquity to the Era of AI—A Short Review

Facial beauty has been cherished around the world and has captivated humans throughout history. Despite a series of attempts, however, it is still almost impossible to accurately define beauty. Its precise perception remains unanswered and is definitely partially subjective. Several disciplines have been studying facial beauty and attractiveness, including but not limited to philosophy, psychology, evolutionary physiology, sociology, neuroscience and cognitive sciences, computer imaging, human biology, and anatomy, as well as art history and plastic surgery. Each specialist approaches the topic from his/her own personal standpoint and expertise, thus adding another dimension to our perceptions regarding the definition of facial beauty. In addition, several geometric, mathematical formulas, grids, and canons (rules) were developed over the centuries in an effort to provide standardized explanations of facial beauty based on mathematical analysis of facial proportions. In this short review article, concepts of facial beauty are analyzed from historical, philosophical, and mathematical perspectives as well as from the standpoint of neuroesthetics and psychology. Current concepts in the era of social media and artificial intelligence, and their influence, are also summarized.