Le Crainte, Le Mépris, La Frayeur (from Caractères des passions, gravés sur les desseins de l'illustre Monsieur le Brun) 1695 - 1720

Editor: This etching, "Le Crainte, Le Mépris, La Frayeur," or "Fear, Disdain, Terror," created between 1695 and 1720 by Sébastien Le Clerc, presents a stark exploration of emotion. I'm struck by the almost caricatured intensity of each face; they feel…well, theatrical! What do you make of these exaggerated expressions? Curator: Theatrical indeed! And rather brilliantly so, don't you think? These faces are windows into the baroque mind – a mind obsessed with drama, with the grand gestures of human emotion. It’s not just *feeling* something; it’s *performing* it, embodying it, for all the world to see, to *experience*. It’s as though Le Clerc is handing us a guidebook to the passions. Look at the meticulously rendered details – the furrowed brows, the widened eyes. Do you sense any connection to Le Brun? Editor: Definitely! You can see that Le Clerc is channeling Le Brun in the figures. They almost seem like studies for a play or some sort of allegorical depiction. Curator: Precisely! Think of this as an instruction manual for actors, painters, or even just gentlemen trying to navigate the complex social theatre of the court. Do we ever truly know how another person feels or are we simply observing their attempt to show us a passion? Editor: I guess we are interpreting from the expression what we are taught the passion means. Thank you for this point of view! This has really reframed how I’m thinking about Baroque art and expression now. Curator: My pleasure. These works serve as reminders that human experience is not just about internal states. It’s about connection, and theatrical, performance of what is felt. Something for us to consider, even now.