Despair after 1698

Editor: This is Eduardus Jacobus's drawing, "Despair," from after 1698, currently residing at The Art Institute of Chicago. It appears to be done with graphite, chalk, and other drawing media on paper. It’s pretty intense; that expression is almost painful to look at. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Indeed! Jacobus masterfully uses physiognomy here; the artistic study of facial features to reveal inner character. Notice the emphasis on the exaggerated wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, and that furious hair. This taps into a long tradition – think of the classical "Mask of Tragedy." Do you see how those shared visual cues trigger an immediate emotional response in us, even centuries later? Editor: So, you're saying it's kind of a shorthand for "anguish"? It's interesting how consistent those symbols of distress have remained. Is the text at the bottom part of the original artwork, too? Curator: Exactly. And yes, the text is integral. It serves as a clinical analysis of the expression. But even without the words, we instinctively understand what Jacobus is conveying. These exaggerated expressions of emotions became crucial in theatrical and artistic representations. It aimed to depict universal human experience. Editor: I get it. It is fascinating to see that artistic pursuit to visually capture, preserve, and distill emotional experiences and expressions across centuries. Thanks for elaborating. Curator: My pleasure. The universality of these visual cues underlines how profoundly images shape and carry our collective cultural memory, in ways that text just cannot.