Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne)

1856

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Figure 32: Natural laughter by the voluntary contraction of the two large zygomatics and the lower palpebral orbicularis is a 1856 by Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne), a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne (de Boulogne)
When & what style?: 1856 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

The story of this work

Overview

Duchenne embarked on the first scientific, systematic exploration of the physiology of human facial expression and hoped, through photographs of the experiments, to teach artists how to portray those emotions. Here, he has photographed a subject’s natural smile and described the muscles creating it. In subsequent photographs, he used an electrode to contract one of the muscles that convey that same emotion.

Read the full account in the museum source.