Figure 20: Profound suffering, with resignation 1854 - 1856

This photograph, “Figure 20: Profound suffering, with resignation,” was made by Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne, using the 19th-century process of albumen silver printing. The image is arresting: we see a man’s face contorted in sorrow, with wires extending to his facial muscles. Duchenne was interested in isolating and recording specific emotions through the medium of photography. But his technique was far from neutral: by applying electric shocks to his subject, he forced the facial expressions he sought. In this way, the photograph is inextricably linked to a specific mode of production, involving not only the science of photography, but also a disturbing manipulation of the human subject. The photograph presents itself as a scientific document, yet it also raises ethical questions about labor and class. It challenges us to consider the power dynamics inherent in the photographic process itself, which is not a window onto truth, but a constructed reality. By understanding its making, we come to a fuller grasp of the image and its complex meanings.