La photographie, la physionomie, et le racisme – translation
Photography, Physiognomy, and Racism
Stevie Ballas
March 11, 2023
What was the relationship between photography, physiognomic theories, and racism?
The origin of physiognomy goes back to ancient Greece. Pythagoras chose his students according to their faces; in his view, there were faces characteristic of a gifted student. Aristotle thought that having a large head meant a person was wicked. Nineteenth-century criminology intensified physiognomic misconceptions with Francis Galton’s composite portraits and the work of Cesare Lombroso. I will examine physiognomic, discriminatory portraits and how this photographic tradition manifests today.
Cesare Lombroso, the Father of Anthropological Criminology
Cesare Lombroso, an Italian psychiatrist, believed that criminality was hereditary. There were “born criminals.” They could be identified by their physical characteristics (the pseudoscience of physiognomy) (Granieri, 173). Lombroso wrote a case study on Giuseppe Villella, a thief from southern Italy. Villella suffered additional discrimination because he was a southern Italian. When Lombroso found a mark on Villella’s skull, he made racist comparisons with the skulls of so-called “inferior races” in Bolivia and Peru, and with animals, falsely associating criminality with race and dehumanising both criminals and people of colour (Granieri, 175). Lombroso’s work and his “anthropological criminology” created a harmful image of the “born criminal” that persists to this day.
Portraits and Discriminatory Photography
Head of a Criminal Epileptic
Head of a Criminal Epileptic, image from Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso (1911)
We see a man (his age is hard to determine) with short hair and a moustache. His jacket hangs loosely over his shoulders, and he wears a vest, trousers, and gloves. The backdrop is white, and the man is seated with his hands on his knees. His facial expression is hard to read, but his eyes are melancholy. He gazes off into the distance. The lighting on his face is extremely low, and the shadows on it are dark. The centre of the photograph is his chest. His hands and trousers are dark, and he looks dirty and shabby. The caption reads: Head of a Criminal / Epileptic.
According to Lombroso, epileptics are dirty and shabby because they are social deviants with a natural propensity for crime. For Hippocrates, epilepsy had a divine origin. In the nineteenth century, epilepsy was terrifying because of the striking seizures (Granieri, 173). Lombroso believed that alcoholism, venereal diseases, malnutrition, and epilepsy were causes of moral and physical degeneration, and he associated these causes with the idea of the born criminal (Granieri, 177). Here, we see how the image of a “born criminal” helps create a harmful, reductive story based on inaccurate facts and loose correlations.
Patient
Patient, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum, Hugh Welch Diamond, 1850–58
We see a young woman wearing a patterned dress with long hair. The backdrop is a dark curtain, and the woman’s expression is playful. One hand rests at her side, the other on her lap. She smiles faintly, and her eyes are amused but melancholy at the same time; her face is difficult to read. She sits in a dark wooden chair.
The woman in the portrait is a patient of Hugh Welch Diamond, a nineteenth-century psychiatrist who used photography to document his patients and to identify how mental illness could supposedly be read on their faces; Diamond was a supporter of physiognomy. The woman’s expression here is mocking; perhaps she is questioning the legitimacy of physiognomy. Her elegant pose is interesting and suggests the rigidity and artificial nature of the portrait; the only natural element in the image is her smile, a kind of sly rebellion. Medical photography intensified discriminatory photography because of the belief in photography’s absolute objectivity and in the dehumanisation of those it portrays (Wade, 2016).
Anton Otto Krauser
Anton Otto Krauser, Apache, image from Criminal Man, According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso (1911)
We see a young bare-chested man with striking tattoos. His arms are crossed over his stomach, and he wears dark trousers. The man is muscular and has a scar under his eye. He stares off into the distance, and the background is white. On his chest we see two sailors, and between them a ship and a crown. On his arms, he has an image of Sisyphus with his rock in a relaxed pose, and a ship’s mast. The caption reads: Anton Otto Krauser / Apache.
Lombroso’s portrait of Anton Otto Krauser creates an image of the born criminal: dirty, tough, passionate, strong, and dangerous (Granieri, 177). With this kind of portrait, Lombroso constructs the image of the pazzo morale, or “moral madman,” and creates a manual for identifying deviants (Granieri, 177). The tattoo of Sisyphus is particularly interesting; the myth of Sisyphus is a story of cruel punishment and futile labour: Sisyphus is condemned by the gods to push a rock up a hill for eternity. At the summit, the rock rolls back to the bottom and Sisyphus must start again. But the tattoo is rebellious, because Sisyphus is leaning on the rock. In a similar way, people like Anton Otto Krauser recognise that they cannot change the rigid attitudes of physiognomists and criminologists, so why try?
Contemporary Photography: Ken Gonzales-Day
Contemporary photographer Ken Gonzales-Day examines how physiognomy persists in museum archives.
Untitled (Henry Weekes, Bust of an African Woman, based on a photographic image of Mary Seacole, and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, Bust of Mme Adélaïde Julie Mirleau de Neuville, née Garnier d’Isle. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA), 2011, Ken Gonzales-Day, chromogenic print.
In this photograph, we see profile views of two female busts facing each other. The bust on the left is based on the image of Mary Seacole, a Jamaican and British woman who played a key role in the nursing profession during the Crimean War. Sculpted by Henry Weekes in 1859, it is paired with the bust on the right, based on the image of Mme Adélaïde Julie Mirleau de Neuville, daughter of architect Jean-Charles Garnier d’Isle, who designed Madame de Pompadour’s estate Bellevue. The sculptor is Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1750s). The background is black, accentuating the shadows on the busts’ faces. Although the women face each other, their gazes are directed elsewhere. Both women appear to smile, but Mary Seacole’s smile is troubling, while Adélaïde’s smile is serene.
Gonzales-Day’s Profiled series examines how physiognomy persists in museum busts. Here, the photograph stages a comparison between representations of a white woman and a Black woman. Why is there pain in Mary Seacole’s eyes, while Adélaïde Julie Mirleau de Neuville appears joyful? The difference is that we are (painfully) aware of the lack of objectivity in these portraits. For nineteenth-century positivists, photographic portraits counted as absolute proof of their theories.
Modern Effects
“Police used an image of the suspect taken from a fake driver’s license left at the scene (left) to run a facial recognition scan. It returned a ‘high profile comparison’ to Nijeer Parks (right).” CNN (2021).
In this image, we see two men side by side for comparison. Both are African American, and the photograph resembles a mugshot or a Bertillon-style portrait parlé. The photo on the left is blurry and grainy, with dark shadows. The man on the left has a beard and moustache, as does the man on the right. The right-hand photo is clearer, with light reflecting on the man’s forehead, cheeks, and lips. The men’s eyebrows have different shapes, and their noses and nostrils also differ. The hairlines are different. The man on the left wears a black shirt; the one on the right a white shirt and dark coat.
Facial recognition technology is increasingly popular in public spaces and media. It is dangerous: facial recognition often misidentifies people of colour (Monteiro, 4). We see this in the case of Nijeer Parks in February 2019, a Black man wrongly identified by facial recognition. The errors of the technology show that physiognomy is not dead; it has simply changed form. According to facial recognition, “born criminals” are now Black people. Physiognomy changes shape, but the danger of this pseudoscience is no less frightening.
2. Trouver le juste milieu entre l’esthétique et la médecine – Translation
Finding the Right Balance Between Aesthetics and Medicine
Duchenne’s Art in Developing Medical Photography
Tamecka Marecheau-Miller
16 March 2023
- Introduction
- Duchenne’s “Types”
- Medicine
- Art
- Conclusion
- Sources
Introduction
Duchenne de Boulogne was a scientist and physician (1806–1875) who laid the foundations of medical photography. His works Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine and the Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée are paradigmatic examples of how art and medicine were combined and of the subjective assumptions of the period about these two rather different disciplines.
Duchenne’s “Types”
Duchenne was both a doctor and a researcher. He used photography to preserve and share his observations and to legitimise his hypotheses. In the nineteenth century, the camera was often seen as an absolutely clinical gaze with the capacity to preserve visual information perfectly (Amirault, 60). The public at the time was rarely aware of the way photographs “constructed” the individuals they depicted. Today it is much clearer that photos produce certain representations or conceptions of individuals or groups.
Duchenne studied the science of human facial expression according to two basic principles. The first was that emotional expression is uniform for all humans because of a divine force. The second was that variations in expressions were caused by pathological conditions of the facial muscular systems and that these variations were indicative of traits of an individual’s mind, a conception based on the pseudoscience of phrenology (Parent, 375).
Duchenne’s photographs redefine the physical expression of human emotion. His work is objectifying and reveals the political subjectivities that shaped the development of medical photography as a discipline.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this photograph, we clearly see only the face of a man grimacing as a result of electrical stimulation of his facial muscles, and the hands (Duchenne’s) holding the electrodes near the man’s face. The man’s face is used as an object to render a specific facial expression in the image. He appears intensely frightened by something as he looks toward the camera, ready to scream. His hair is dishevelled, and his neck is blurred and overexposed. The background has little depth, but from the shadows behind him we can infer he is standing in front of a wall. The tight, centred lighting on his head makes the image reminiscent of classical paintings; this implies that the photo presents a typical expression of fear. From this analysis, it is clear that Duchenne introduces a “type” in this photograph: a man with a “natural,” non-pathological reaction of fear.
This photo is presented as the typical representation of a typical, non-pathological expression of fear, according to Duchenne.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this photograph, we see a woman’s head and chest, and an electrode touching her cheek. She smiles with only one side of her mouth, the left eye shut, and the other half of her face relaxed. She appears very neat and calm in front of the camera. Her facial features are sharp and her hair carefully styled. Everything in the image is in focus. The contrast between the dark tones of her hair and clothes and the brightness of her skin is visually pleasing. The expression she is forced to make is also quite charming. Duchenne poses her in such a way that she appears attractive. It is difficult to interpret the background, but the play of light evokes classical painting. This classical ideal is thus legible within the photograph itself. This implies that the photo represents a “type”: the type of a neatly dressed, confident woman presenting non-pathological facial asymmetry.
Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée, Duchenne, 1868
The third photograph shows both Duchenne and one of his subjects in the middle of an electrotherapy session. Duchenne stands and smiles while his seated subject pulls a strange grimace caused by the stimulation of facial muscles by an electrode on his face. This photo conveys the subtle message of Duchenne’s superiority over his subjects. Since, in this book, he was studying mental and physical illnesses, this message becomes confused with a message of the physical and social superiority of the healthy over the sick.
The softly lit cheek against a very dark background once again makes the image resemble classical paintings, which often present archetypal and symbolic figures. Here, this similarity to classical painting helps Duchenne create his type of the sick person: someone with contorted physical traits and a disturbed mind who must be manipulated by medicine to become “right.” At the same time, the photograph suggests that mental illness renders those affected inferior to individuals who have never suffered from such conditions.
This photo presents the sick person as manipulated by and dependent on doctors.
Medicine
Duchenne believed the camera’s goal was to be an “absolute eye that sees everything” and that it reflected the entire truth and preserved every visual observation in perfect clarity. He called the camera a “mirror” of truth and reality (Mauro, 56). For him, photography would provide visual proof of his hypotheses.
However, what he failed to consider was the point of view that the simple use of the camera introduced into his work. Even as he used the camera for artistic ends—for framing and building a specific scene—Duchenne did not seem aware of the influence his choices with the camera could have in the scientific field.
In his Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée, he presents several photographs of young boys with muscular growth disorders. Duchenne’s medical photography is both objectifying and re-defining: it creates a type of sick individual. Let us examine the following photographs.
Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée, Duchenne, 1868
This photograph shows the naked back of a young boy. His body shows unusually protruding bones and abnormal curves. The boy appears to be looking down, suggesting a feeling of shame. The fact that he hides his face (by turning away) emphasises this message. This photo objectifies the boy’s body. Duchenne presents him to the viewer as an element—a case study—and seems to suggest that the boy, because he is sick, has no say over what happens to his body.
The individual Duchenne chooses to represent this illness has a twisted back and a defenceless appearance due to his hunched posture. This photo contributes to the stereotype that sick individuals have abnormal bodies and lack agency over them. By presenting this image, Duchenne creates a type of sick person who is defenceless and physically abnormal.
Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée, Duchenne, 1868
This is another photograph of a young boy, shown in profile from head to hips. It shows his slack jaw and rounded belly. The boy looks down and does not seem enthusiastic about being photographed. He slouches slightly as well. He appears to be standing in front of a screen; the light is focused on his head, giving the image a classical feel. Moreover, this profile pose revealing his right ear and neutral facial expression resembles forensic photographs. As in the previous image, this one translates a lack of bodily autonomy on the boy’s part. However, this photograph has a more accusatory atmosphere, thanks to its resemblance to police or medico-legal images. We can interpret this resemblance as another form of objectification, presenting the boy as a specimen of how disease appears on the human body.
Art
Duchenne aimed to create a perfect blend of art and science in his medical photography. He was strongly inspired by Greek sculpture and by famous artists such as Rembrandt, whose work influenced his use of direct, dramatic lighting. Duchenne’s most artistically influenced works appear largely in the “aesthetic section” of Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine. There he recreates myths and popular characters (like Ophelia and Lady Macbeth), stages fantasies, and arranges sexually provocative poses. This section features a woman who was blind, whom Duchenne described as having the typical face of women reputed to be especially cruel (Mauro, 57).
Notably, in this artistic work Duchenne reveals his misogynistic beliefs and his adherence to phrenological values. Here, Duchenne embraces the idea that certain faces are more inclined to produce certain expressions, which are the result of a person’s character. This reflects phrenology’s claim that a person’s skull structure can reveal physical, mental, or emotional traits.
In the artistic section of his book, Duchenne mostly has women pose. He has them pose in sexually provocative ways or as a means of “realising” a fantasy he later elaborates in the text. His choices appear boldly voyeuristic and objectifying, revealing the interaction between photography, medicine, and personality: once someone is in front of a camera, they become a subject, and the lens redefines who and what the person represents.
Duchenne’s art is thus exploitative and objectifying.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this photograph, we see a woman beside Duchenne, who holds an electrode to her head. She wears a white dress and white veil and stands with her hands clasped, looking upward.
Her pose recalls that of pious women in devout prayer, like nuns. Her outfit, reminiscent of a bridal gown, contradicts this image of a nun. It appears as though she intends to marry God.
Duchenne leans in to observe the expressions produced by electrifying her muscles. His posture contrasts the religious image constructed by the woman with the image of the scientist. This combination of a praying woman and a man of science recalls the Enlightenment conflict between science and religion. Interestingly, the light in the photograph concentrates on Duchenne’s head, creating the illusion of a halo.
The presence of this halo over Duchenne suggests that the woman venerates him, that she gives thanks to him and will marry him. In this photo, we see a story unfold that is entirely voyeuristic and fantastical. The woman, who has no control over this story (or even over her own expression), becomes a puppet, an object, and a symbol in front of the camera.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this photograph, we see a woman in front of Duchenne, who holds an electrode to her head, leaning toward her. She stands in a wide white dress, one hand holding her breast, smiling.
Her pose is sensual and immodest. Her hands, even while holding her breast, seem to be the only thing keeping her dress in place. In the nineteenth century, this pose would be scandalous for a woman; it is obvious that it originates from the male gaze.
Duchenne stands back in the woman’s shadow, on the side opposite the light, directing her expression. His presence makes it clear that he has manipulated the woman into this pose. This suggests that Duchenne has choreographed her posture and that she does not decide how to position her own body. Here, the woman becomes nothing more than an object.
This photograph presents the woman as dehumanised, objectified, and turned into a puppet to satisfy the male gaze.
Conclusion
From this visual analysis and the literature on Duchenne’s role in early medical photography, it becomes clear that Duchenne played a foundational role in establishing a balance between art and science in medical photographic technique. Duchenne also introduced prejudices and stereotypes into medical photography, just as Alphonse Bertillon did in criminological photography and contemporary art photographers did in his time.