Hoofd van een man in een staat van pijn Possibly 1732 - 1738

This is an engraving called 'Head of a man in pain', by an anonymous artist. The study of emotions became popular in the eighteenth century, with physiognomy, the pseudoscience of judging character from facial features, gaining significant traction. It was believed that emotions could be classified, catalogued, and visually represented. This print, with its dramatic depiction of anguish, aligns with such trends. It invites us to contemplate how the face could be read as a public display of private feelings. While the artist remains unknown, prints like these were crucial in disseminating artistic and scientific knowledge across Europe. Produced and distributed through academic institutions and print shops, they served as a means of standardizing and sharing ideas about human emotion and expression. By consulting period sources such as medical and artistic treatises, we can contextualize how this image participates in a broader cultural conversation about the nature and communication of human emotion. Its meaning lies not just in the image itself, but in the social and intellectual currents of its time.