Gezichtsuitdrukking van toorn en gezichtsuitdrukking van toorn en wanhoop 1692 - 1711

Editor: This is "Gezichtsuitdrukking van toorn en gezichtsuitdrukking van toorn en wanhoop" – or "Facial expressions of anger and facial expressions of anger and despair"– made between 1692 and 1711 by Pieter Schenk. It's an ink drawing on paper, a real showcase of different, well, faces! It strikes me as almost theatrical, like character studies for a play. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, absolutely! It's a whole emotional rollercoaster rendered in delicate lines. For me, Schenk isn't just showing us anger, but dissecting it. See how each face depicts a different *flavor* of fury? One face hints at fear mixed with rage, another pure unadulterated wrath, and then the final plunge into utter despair. Aren’t you struck by that final expression of despair? That hits on something really fundamental. Editor: It's interesting you pick up on different "flavors". Do you think this was for artistic purposes, or some scientific endeavor to understand and categorize emotion? Curator: It’s that era's obsession with classifying everything, right? Almost a pre-photography attempt to document the fleeting, chaotic landscape of human emotion, very Baroque. You can practically see Schenk saying: "Aha! *This* is what utter hopelessness looks like." Like capturing lightning in a bottle…or perhaps a sketchpad. Maybe artists would copy them into their history paintings so the audience would understand their protagonists better. Editor: That makes a lot of sense! It's like a manual for actors or artists. So cool to think about. I’ll definitely look at other baroque art through that lens now. Curator: Wonderful! It has really pushed me to reflect on just how diverse – yet universal – something like ‘anger’ really is, when you start breaking it down to its finer nuances!