Karikatuur van vier mannen en een vrouw met verschillende gezichtsuitdrukkingen 1823

Louis Léopold Boilly created this caricature of five individuals with distinct facial expressions sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During this period, France was undergoing dramatic political and social change, and caricature became a popular way to comment on society. Here, Boilly captures a range of grimaces, from anger to disdain, which are rendered with incredible detail. What does it mean to make such a spectacle of the face? The faces, pressed together as they are, seem to suggest a kind of collective emotional state. The emotional intensity of the figures seems to speak to a society in flux, grappling with new ideas and anxieties. Importantly, caricature has historically been used to satirize and stereotype various social groups, reflecting and reinforcing existing power structures. Boilly’s image invites us to consider the relationship between individual expression, social critique, and the power dynamics embedded in visual representation.