Artwork Page for Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis

Details / Information for Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis

Series Title: The Mechanism of Human Physiognomy

Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis

c. 1856, printed 1862

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne)

(French, 1806–1875)

Adrien Tournachon

(French, 1825–1903)
Culture
Medium
Albumen print from glass plate negative
Measurements
Image: 15.1 x 11 cm (5 15/16 x 4 5/16 in.); Paper: 22.7 x 17 cm (8 15/16 x 6 11/16 in.); Mounted: 41 x 27.6 cm (16 1/8 x 10 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust 2018.9
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Duchenne embarked on the first scientific, systematic exploration of the physiology of human facial expression and hoped, through photographs of the experiments, to teach artists how to portray those emotions. Here, he has photographed a subject’s natural smile and described the muscles creating it. In subsequent photographs, he used an electrode to contract one of the muscles that convey that same emotion.
An albumen print photograph depicts a man with light skin tone from the chest up, centered within an oval frame. Facing us, his mouth pulls into a wide, toothy grin. Deep creases fan from his narrowed eyes and across his forehead. He has a receding hairline with thin hair longer on the sides. He wears a white, open-collared shirt. The oval sits within a dark, rectangular border.

Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis

c. 1856, printed 1862

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne), Adrien Tournachon

(French, 1806–1875), (French, 1825–1903)

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