Duchenne de Boulogne

From the Collection Wall
January 25–March 4, 2023

A neurologist by training, French physician Duchenne de Boulogne enthusiastically embraced three of the most momentous scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century: electricity, physiology, and photography. He employed all three in his ardent investigations of human physiognomy, which he pursued in ongoing experiments with electrically stimulating the muscles of patients with neuromuscular disorders. Duchenne first introduced photography into his research practice in 1855 in collaboration with Adrien Tournachon, a photographer with a common interest in studying human facial expressions. Many of the images they produced together were later reproduced as scientific data in publications authored by Duchenne, including The Mechanism of Human Facial Expression, from which the photographic plates on view originate. First published in 1862 with only ten copies, the influential book has subsequently been released in nearly forty French and English editions. The works seen here represent Duchenne’s method of applying electric shock to his subjects’ faces to stimulate the muscles into producing various facial aspects, which his accompanying texts associated with those characteristic of classical sculpture, and discussed as examples of the universality of human expression. Despite his pioneering contributions to the medical photography field, Duchenne’s legacy is not without controversy, as ethical questions have arisen regarding the harsh methods to which he subjected his models.

Denise Birkhofer
Collections Curator

From the Collection is a rotating display highlighting works from The Image Centre’s permanent collection.