The muscle of attention (left); Eyebrow contraction due to bright light (right)
1854-1856, printed 1862
Medium
albumen print
Dimensions
image: 22.1 × 16.7 cm (8 11/16 × 6 9/16 in.) mount: 40.3 × 27.7 cm (15 7/8 × 10 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
W. Bruce and Delaney H. Lundberg Fund, in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of Photography at the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2015.52.3
Art Historical Context
Step into the intriguing world of 19th science with *The muscle of attention (left); Eyebrow contraction to bright light (right, a pair of albumen prints French neurologist and photographer Guillaume-Benjamin-A Duchenne (de Boulogne). Created between 1854 and 1856 and printed in 1862, these (22.1 × 16. cm each) meticulously capture isolated facial muscle contractions on a subject's face, revealing the precise mechanics of human expression. Duchenne pioneered the use of faradic electricity to stimulate facial nerves, producing authentic expressions unmarred by voluntary acting. Featured in his...
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...