Figure 39: The attention attracted by an object that provokes lascivious ideas and desires. 1854 - 1856

This photograph, "Figure 39," was produced by Guillaume Duchenne using the albumen silver print method. The subject’s stark, contrasted form is tightly framed within an oval, immediately drawing our attention to the complex network of lines and textures that define his expression. Duchenne, through this electro-physiological study, attempts to map emotions onto specific muscular contractions of the face. Note the almost clinical arrangement of the electrodes juxtaposed against the raw expressiveness of the man’s features. The artificiality of the pose, induced by electrical stimulation, highlights the tension between scientific objectivity and subjective experience. Duchenne attempts to dissect and categorize human emotions through a formal, scientific lens. Yet, the image destabilizes any fixed understanding of emotional expression. Instead, it presents a complex interplay between the artificial and the authentic, challenging our understanding of the relationship between the physical and the emotional.