A relaxed face (left); Profound attention (right)
1854-1856, printed 1862
Medium
albumen print
Dimensions
image: 22.3 × 16.2 cm (8 3/4 × 6 3/8 in.) mount: 40.3 × 27.4 cm (15 7/8 × 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund
Accession Number
2015.52.17
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, neurologist Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulog revolutionized the study of human emotion through pioneering photographic experiments. *A relaxed face (left Profound attention (right)*, created between 1854 and 1856 and printed an albumen silver print in 1862, captures two starkly contrasting expressions on a single subject. Using faradic electricity to stimulate facial muscles, Duchenne documented authentic, involuntary responses, free from conscious posing—a breakthrough in both science and visual documentation. This albumen print, prized for its sharp detai...
About the Artist
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne (de Boulogne)
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne de Boulogne (1806–1875) was a French neurologist whose pioneering use of photography to document human facial expression placed him at the unique intersection of medical science and visual art. Though primarily a physician rather than an artist in the conventional sense, his photographic work — produced in the 1850s and 1860s — has been recognized as a significant...