Portret van Johann Kaspar Lavater 1759 - 1815

Editor: This is a portrait of Johann Kaspar Lavater, made between 1759 and 1815 by Heinrich Pfenninger, using engraving techniques. It’s quite a formal depiction, framed within an oval, with very precise linework. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This engraving exists within a fascinating historical and cultural context. Lavater was a Swiss pastor, but more importantly, a physiognomist – someone who believed that character could be determined by facial features. Consider the power dynamics embedded in this practice. Editor: Power dynamics? I hadn’t thought of it that way. Curator: Absolutely. Physiognomy was deeply intertwined with the emerging scientific racism and sexism of the Enlightenment. The “objective” study of the face was used to justify existing social hierarchies, to reinforce prejudices about race, class, and gender. Who gets to decide what constitutes a "good" or "bad" face, and what are the implications of such judgments? Editor: So, this seemingly simple portrait is actually loaded with those kinds of judgements? Curator: Indeed. The artist's hand, guided by the prevailing ideology, participates in perpetuating these biased views. How do you see this intersecting with contemporary ideas about beauty and representation? Editor: I guess the emphasis on rationality during the Neoclassical movement provided a dangerous justification for these biases through scientific seeming methods. This gives me a lot to think about regarding how historical biases are recorded and transmitted by art. Curator: Precisely! Looking critically at the power structures inherent in portraiture encourages us to question how representation functions ideologically even today.