Self-Portrait Screaming in Terror c. 1780s - 1790s

Editor: Right now, we're looking at Joseph Ducreux's "Self-Portrait Screaming in Terror," from around the 1780s or 1790s. It's at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The artist used drawing media. The expression is pretty intense—almost comical, even though it seems to be a moment of genuine distress. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What immediately strikes me is the raw emotion. The open mouth, the wide eyes – it's visceral. But consider, it's also a self-portrait. In the late 18th century, these were often exercises in portraying character or emotions, more akin to acting a part than a modern selfie. Think of how the theater used masks to denote personas or feelings. Editor: So it's less about Ducreux documenting a moment of terror and more about representing terror itself? Curator: Precisely. What cultural memory does this invoke? Are there characters or figures who come to mind when you see this display of fear? Often, in art of this period, archetypes were intentionally referenced, connecting individual work to a larger historical understanding. Editor: That makes sense. I was just seeing the pure, unadulterated emotion, but now I realize it's much more staged. It’s like he is pulling this expression from somewhere, maybe something classical. Curator: Yes, this emotional vocabulary draws upon longstanding conventions. Now I wonder how contemporaries would read Ducreux in relationship to, say, classical theatre…What lasting impressions will we leave in the cultural memory? Editor: That's really changed my perspective! I was focusing on the surface, but now I see there are layers of meaning connected to history. Thanks for making me think about it that way.