ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
The image shows the upper body of two men. The man in the foreground is facing the camera and is seated with his shoulders slightly turned to the right. He has an aged face with pronounced lines and a mostly bald head with some hair on the sides. His facial expression suggests a slight smile. His clothing is a loosely worn shirt with a large V-neckline, revealing his chest and tied at the waist. The man behind him, partially visible, is seen from the side wearing glasses and a suit, seemingly interacting with the first man's face. The background is plain and neutral with no visible objects or scenery.
Read the visual description

The image shows the upper body of two men. The man in the foreground is facing the camera and is seated with his shoulders slightly turned to the right. He has an aged face with pronounced lines and a mostly bald head with some hair on the sides. His facial expression suggests a slight smile. His clothing is a loosely worn shirt with a large V-neckline, revealing his chest and tied at the waist. The man behind him, partially visible, is seen from the side wearing glasses and a suit, seemingly interacting with the first man's face. The background is plain and neutral with no visible objects or scenery.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

A relaxed face (left); False joy or laughter (right)

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne (de Boulogne)

Date
1854-1856, printed 1862
Medium
albumen silver print
Dimensions
image: 22.7 × 16.8 cm (8 15/16 × 6 5/8 in.) mount: 42 × 27.4 cm (16 9/16 × 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2015.52.22
Credit line
Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CPH
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Portfolio
Mécanisme de la Physionomie (The Mechanism of Human Facial Expression)

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • portrait
  • albumen silver print
  • Facial expression
  • Science
  • Electrical
Provenance

Alphonse Bertillon, Paris; by descent to Pascal Vincent-Bertillon, Paris; NGA purchase (through Denis Canguilhem, Paris), 2015.

Inscription

upper center of mount in black letterpress: Électro-Physiologie Photographique. / Fig. 30.; lower center-right of mount in black letterpress: Duchenne (de Boulogne), phot.

NGA object ID 169275. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.