Figure 45: Contraction électrique forte des triangulaires des lèvres et des sourciliers: douleur et déspoir
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne) Adrien Tournachon
Duchenne embarked on the first scientific, systematic exploration of the physiology of human facial expression and hoped, through photographs of his experiments, to teach artists how to portray those emotions. The experiments were performed by applying electrical stimulation to a single muscle on one side of the face, so that the viewer could clearly see the impact of the muscular contraction.
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- image: height 0.235 m, width 0.179 m; oval opening: height 0.162 m, width 0.119 m; mounted: height 0.412 m, width 0.274 m
- Origin
- France, 19th century
- Department
- Photography
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- John L. Severance Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Face Visual · 99%
The composition is centered on a frontal human face, with the brow, eyes, cheeks, and mouth prominently displayed.
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Human Figure Visual · 98%
A single male subject is shown from the head through the upper torso.
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Medical/Health Both · 97%
Electrical contacts, wires, and attendants are visibly involved in the procedure, while the catalog identifies the work as a systematic investigation of facial-muscle physiology.
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Figure Studies Both · 90%
The photograph isolates a specific facial configuration for examination, and the catalog states that Duchenne’s photographs were intended to help artists portray emotions.
Medium and Techniques
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Photography Metadata · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work as a photograph and identifies its medium as albumen print from glass plate negative.
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Traditional Photographic Techniques Metadata · 95%
An albumen print made from a glass plate negative is a nineteenth-century photographic process represented by this catalog category.
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Frontal Perspective Visual · 94%
The subject is presented in a direct, centered frontal view, with the face and upper body aligned toward the camera.
Time Periods
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19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to approximately 1856, printed in 1862, placing it within nineteenth-century art.
Geographic Regions
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French Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog gives France as the place of origin and identifies Duchenne and Tournachon as French.
Source & rights
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne) (French, 1806–1875). Figure 45: Contraction électrique forte des triangulaires des lèvres et des sourciliers: douleur et déspoir. Cleveland Museum of Art.