Figure 27: Expression proportionally more pained 1854 - 1856

This photograph, "Figure 27: Expression proportionally more pained," is one of a series of images created by Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne between 1854-1856. Duchenne was a French neurologist interested in the relationship between the muscles of the face and human expression. In his book "Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine, ou Analyse Électro-Physiologique de l'Expression des Passions," he used electrical stimulation to create a variety of facial expressions in his subjects and photographed the results. This work helped to develop the field of facial expression analysis and is still studied by artists and scientists today. The photograph shows a woman's face contorted in pain, her brow furrowed and her mouth slightly open, capturing the intensity of the emotion. This work, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a fascinating example of early photography's role in scientific exploration and the study of human expression.