Tamecka Marecheau-Miller – Finding the Right Balance Between Aesthetics and Medicine
Trouver le juste milieu entre l’esthétique et la médecine
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 Album de photographies pathologiques complémentaire du livre intitulé De l’électrisation localisée are paradigmatic examples of the combination of art and medicine, revealing the subjectivities 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 considered an absolute clinical gaze with the capacity to preserve visual information perfectly (Amirault, 60). The public at the time rarely realised how photos “constructed” the individuals they depicted. Today, it is clearer that photographs produce certain representations or conceptions of individuals or groups.
Duchenne studied the science of human emotional expression according to two basic principles. The first was that expressions of emotion are 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 system and that these variations revealed traits of the 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 objectifies his subjects 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 his face. The man’s face is used as an object to produce a particular expression in the image. He appears intensely frightened, looking toward the camera as if 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 that he is in front of a wall. The focused light on his head makes the image resemble a classical painting; 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 photograph stands as the typical representation of what Duchenne considered a typical, non-pathological expression of fear.
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; her left eye is closed, the other half of her face is relaxed. She appears very clean and calm in front of the camera. Her facial features are sharp and her hair is 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 quite charming. Duchenne poses her so that she appears attractive. The background is hard to decipher, but the play of light suggests classical painting. This classical ideal is therefore legible in the photograph itself. This implies that the image represents a “type”: the type of a neat, confident woman with a 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 contorts his face into a grimace caused by electrical stimulation from the electrode placed 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 merges with that of the physical and social superiority of the healthy over the sick.
The faint light on the subject’s cheek against a very dark background once again makes the image resemble classical painting, which often presents archetypal or symbolic figures. Here, this similarity helps Duchenne create his type of the sick person: someone with twisted 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 makes those affected inferior to those who have never suffered such conditions.
This photograph presents the sick person as manipulated by and dependent on doctors.
Medicine
Duchenne believed that the camera’s purpose was to be an “absolute eye that sees everything,” reflecting the whole truth and preserving every visual observation with 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, he overlooked the point of view that the simple use of the camera introduced into his work. Even when he used the camera for artistic ends—for framing and constructing specific scenes—Duchenne did not seem aware of the influence his choices with the camera could have in the scientific domain.
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, both objectifying and re-defining, created 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 bare back of a young boy. His body reveals unusually prominent bones and abnormal curves. The boy appears to be looking downward, which suggests 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 ill, has no right to determine what happens to his body.
The individual Duchenne chose to represent this disease has a twisted back and a defenceless appearance, because of his hunched posture. This image contributes to the stereotype that sick individuals have abnormal bodies and lack agency over those bodies. By presenting this photo, Duchenne constructs 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 second image shows another young boy, in profile from head to hips. It shows his slack jaw and round belly. The boy looks downward and does not seem enthusiastic about being photographed. He slouches slightly. He appears to stand in front of a screen; the light focuses on his head, giving the image a classical atmosphere. Moreover, his profile pose, revealing his right ear and a neutral facial expression, recalls medico-legal photographs. As in the previous image, this one conveys a lack of bodily autonomy on the boy’s part. However, this photograph feels more accusatory, because of its resemblance to forensic images. We can interpret this resemblance as another form of objectification: the boy is presented as an exemplar of how a disease manifests 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 stark lighting. Duchenne’s most artistically inspired works appear primarily in the “aesthetic section” of Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine. This section features recreations of myths and popular characters (such as Ophelia and Lady Macbeth), staged fantasies, and sexually provocative poses. It centres on a female model, who was blind, and whom Duchenne claimed had the typical face of women reputed to be especially cruel (Mauro, 57).
In this work, Duchenne clearly reveals his misogynistic beliefs and his adherence to phrenological values. He embraces the idea that certain faces are more likely to produce certain expressions, which are reflections of the person’s character. This mirrors phrenology’s claim that a person’s skull structure reveals physical, mental, or emotional traits.
In the aesthetic section of his book, Duchenne mostly has women pose. He directs them into sexually provocative poses or uses them to “realise” fantasies that he elaborates in the text. His choices appear boldly voyeuristic and objectifying, revealing how photography, medicine, and personality intersect: 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 therefore exploitative and objectifying.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this photograph, we see a woman next to Duchenne, who holds an electrode to her head. She is dressed in a white gown and veil, standing with her hands clasped and her gaze directed upwards.
Her pose resembles that of a pious woman in devout prayer, like a nun. Yet her attire, reminiscent of a bridal gown, contradicts this image of a nun. It appears that she is meant to be “marrying God.”
Duchenne leans in to study her expressions in response to the electrical stimulation. His posture contrasts the image of religion embodied by the woman with the figure of the scientist. This combination of the praying woman and the man of science recalls the Enlightenment-era conflict between science and religion. Interestingly, the light in the photograph concentrates on Duchenne’s head, creating the illusion of a halo.
The halo over Duchenne suggests that the woman adores him, that she gives thanks to him and is symbolically marrying him. In this photograph, a fully voyeuristic, fantastical narrative unfolds. The woman, who has no control over this story (or even over her expressions), becomes a puppet, an object, and a symbol in front of the camera.
Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, Duchenne, 1876
In this image, a woman stands in front of Duchenne, who holds an electrode to her head and bends toward her. She wears a wide white dress, holds her breast with one hand, and smiles.
Her pose is sensual and immodest. Her hands, even while holding her breast, seem to be the only thing keeping her gown from falling. In the nineteenth century, this pose would have been scandalous for a woman; it clearly originates from the male gaze.
Duchenne stays back in the woman’s shadow, on the opposite side from the light, directing her expression. His presence makes it obvious that he has orchestrated this pose. This implies that the woman does not decide how to position her own body. Here, she is no longer a person, but an object.
This photograph presents the woman as dehumanised, objectified, and reduced to a puppet for the male gaze.
Conclusion
From this visual analysis and from the literature on Duchenne’s role in early medical photography, it becomes clear that he played a fundamental role in establishing a “balance” between art and science in medical photographic technique. At the same time, Duchenne’s work introduced prejudices and stereotypes into medical photography—just as Alphonse Bertillon did in criminological photography and contemporary art photographers did in his own era.