Drie ogen en drie neuzen 1820 - 1826

Jean Augustin Daiwaille produced this study of facial features with pencil on paper. Three sets of eyes and noses are neatly aligned, each subtly distinct in their form and the light that falls upon them. Consider the act of observation and replication inherent in this study. Daiwaille's deliberate rendering invites us to ponder the nature of perception itself. The eye, an age-old symbol of awareness, recurs across cultures, often linked to deities or spirits who 'see all.' We find it echoed in ancient Egyptian art as the Eye of Horus, or the all-seeing eye in Renaissance paintings, each adapted to its cultural and artistic context. The nose, too, has a lineage, often overlooked, yet it is central to our sense of self, our ability to discern and navigate the world. In psychoanalytic terms, these features are not merely anatomical but laden with subconscious meaning, markers of identity and gateways to understanding. Daiwaille's study, simple as it seems, touches upon the profound, connecting us to centuries of visual language.