Figure 7: Étude du méchanisme et de l'expression du muscle frontal chez un vieillard: à droit, attention; à gauche, repos
c. 1856, printed 1862
Medium
Albumen print from glass plate negative
Dimensions
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Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust
Accession Number
2018.8
Tags
About this artwork
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.