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Probably the most compelling reason the "traditional" portraits of the past did not show many wide, toothy smiles is the difficulty of having the sitter "hold that pose" when working from the life. The spontaneous, sincere expression in a smile can rapidly become a pained grimace . . . then there was the lack of dental care . . .
A huge pitfall for the modern portraitist is all the difficulty that attends working from reference photos as opposed to working from the life. No doubt you've read lengthy discussion of the pros and cons on these boards.
I agree heartily with Julie. At least twice, I feel I made a misjudgment of my sitter by not painting them with a smile that flashed some teeth (I tend not to favor "snapshot" smiles). The demeanor and personality of these individuals was such that in fact, it was in their character always to be smiling broadly - but not feigned, and naturally spontaneous.
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