c. 1856, printed 1862
(French, 1806–1875)
(French, 1825–1903)
Albumen print from glass plate negative
Image: 16.4 x 12.2 cm (6 7/16 x 4 13/16 in.); Paper: 22.7 x 17.3 cm (8 15/16 x 6 13/16 in.); Mounted: 41.1 x 27.4 cm (16 3/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2018.11
Duchenne, a neurologist at a hospital for the poor in Paris, turned to photography to record the grammar of human expression.
Duchenne described this model, a former shoemaker, as “an old, toothless man, with a thin face, whose features, without being absolutely ugly, approached ordinary triviality.” When criticized for using such an unattractive model, Duchenne held him up as proof that “every human face could become spiritually beautiful through the accurate rendering of his or her emotions.”
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